Elon Musk and Tesla Motors
continue to impress:
Tesla Motors plans to pay an average hourly wage of $25 at its huge battery factory under construction near Reno, Nev., the head of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada said.
That is higher than nearly all automakers in the U.S. are paying new hires and nearly double what most parts suppliers pay. It's also above the $17 starting hourly wage of Tesla workers who assemble its Model S sedan in Fremont, Calif., near San Jose.
The plant will be built in Reno, Nevada—which is ranked as
"excellent" on the Consumer Price Index because of its low cost of living. The 6,500 people expected to fill those soon-to-be-open Tesla jobs are going to be able to make a fair living wage.
The other great news is that by maintaining a higher-than-average standard of pay in Reno, Tesla is now forcing other companies to get on board:
Jeff Lynch of ITS Logistics said the Tesla plant with its wage requirements around $25 an hour will put employers on notice that if they don't want to lose employees, they better pay attention.
"I already know of some wage studies happening in the area for current companies that are here and they give justification for (staff) to go back to their corporate offices to say, 'Hey, we're gonna have to make some bumps,'" he said. "All that's positive. It brings wages up throughout the region."
This is what progressive business leadership looks like. Congrats to Reno and its residents for landing the Tesla battery factory. Looks like things are looking up for the "biggest little city in the world."
1:02 PM PT: A Tesla spokesperson is now disputing this report saying they haven't publicized salaries yet.
Tesla said it has never stated what it would pay battery plant workers. Spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn said in an email that the company won't comment on what it will pay.
"We did submit an application to the state of Nevada last October which included projections of average hourly wage costs for its operational workforce that were informed by regional wage trends," Brooklyn said.
From news clippings at that time:
Last October, the Reno newspaper reported, citing that application that the majority (4,750) of Gigafactory will start at $22.79, while about 820 equipment and quality technicians will start at $27.88 an hour. Engineers and senior staff will be paid $41.83 per hour.