A former employee of Tesla has come forward to share how Elon Musk handles situations where an employee is facing the possibility of termination.
The details were revealed by Carl Medlock, who worked as a territory manager at Tesla from 2009 to 2013.
During an interview on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast, Medlock talked about how Elon Musk handles employees who are not meeting performance expectations.
According to Medlock, one sign that an employee might be in jeopardy of being fired is when Elon Musk starts micromanaging their work.
Musk tends to hire competent individuals and allows them the freedom to excel in their roles. If he starts closely monitoring an employee's work, it usually means their job is at risk.
While Medlock described his experience of working for Musk as "fun," he also mentioned that Musk maintained a professional distance from his employees.
Musk would engage with them only when necessary and did not engage in casual conversations or small talk.
When asked if Musk had a humorous side or if he would joke around with the staff, Medlock stated that he never witnessed such behavior.
It is possible that Musk reserved his humor for a larger audience or different settings.
He recalled an unspoken rule at Tesla where employees refrained from approaching Musk when he was with his children, demonstrating their respect for his personal space.
Medlock's tenure at Tesla came to an end after an incident involving his attempt to assist a woman in Hawaii whose Tesla had been heavily scratched.
Although Medlock received approval from a senior Tesla representative to resolve the issue, his direct supervisor opposed the decision.
The disagreement ultimately led to his departure from the company.
The incident occurred in 2008, five years after Tesla's establishment when sensitive data was shared without authorization.
In response to a question from a user on the X platform, where Musk interacts with his followers, he shared the fascinating story behind catching the culprit.
They sent similar emails to all employees involved, but each email contained subtle differences in the spacing between sentences.
These coding variations created a unique pattern of zeros and ones, which played a crucial role in identifying the leaker.
By carefully analyzing the leaked information, they discovered the same pattern, leading them directly to the responsible individual.
This method employed by Musk falls under the category of a 'canary trap,' which involves creating multiple versions of a sensitive document and distributing them to different suspects.
Once the leaker's identity was confirmed, Tesla took swift action, immediately terminating their employment.
Interestingly, Musk decided against pursuing legal action against the leaker. He explained that his busy schedule and numerous projects left him with limited time to engage in a legal battle.
