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Tesla's Chief Vehicle Engineer Returns To Apple (theverge.com)
Doug Field, the former VP of Mac hardware who left Apple to become Tesla's chief vehicle engineer, has returned to Cupertino. Field is reportedly working on the company's secretive "Project Titan" self-driving car program. The Verge reports: Field ran Tesla's vehicle production and engineering, but CEO Elon Musk took over responsibility for production this year after the company failed to meet its initial first-quarter goal for the Model 3. Field then took a leave of absence in May, and subsequently left the company altogether in June. Project Titan has reportedly been scaled back considerably from its initial scope, with hundreds of people leaving the division as Apple is said to focus on seeking carmaker partners for its self-driving software. [Daring Fireball's John Gruber] speculates that Field's return to Titan suggests Apple could still have an interest in producing vehicles itself, while cautioning that employees do move between the two companies regularly.
wonder if he went to tesla just to gather info then report back to apple.
it's pretty well known that if you leave, for any reason, you'll never be allowed to come back.
That is a foolish policy. My company keeps in touch with alumni, and we invite them to our annual picnic. We have rehired several "boomerangs", with good results every time. They already know our culture and procedures, so they can hit the ground running, without the typical 3-6 month learning curve. We also already know their capabilities, so we can put them into a team where they fit. They come back brimming with new ideas about how to fix our products and processes, and they have learned that the grass isn't greener elsewhere, so they rarely leave a second time.
What possible justification is there for a "no rehire" policy? Do they really think it will dissuade people from quitting?
Musk has paid his bills, hasn't been accused of screwing over contractors, and hasn't bankrupted even one company yet. Hardly comparable.
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So, the big news today is that Tesla lost one employee! One who worked as an executive for four years, and managed the people who really designed the car. For someone like that to hold a job for only four years isn't unusual.
This is met with a lot of totally unsubstantiated "Tesla will crash", "It's a really bad car", "Musk is going to jail". The shorts are still out there, or just trolls.
As far as I can tell, lots of people want their cars, their home solar products, their industrial battery products, etc.
I agree that Musk was probably just teasing the shorts. But Musk can say he's considering any thing he wants. And although it would be the largest stock buy-out ever, on paper, consider that the actual buying out is only for the people who decide to sell - while many would hang on - and he probably is able to line up the financing to handle a reasonable estimate of how many investors would sell out.
Lots of companies go private, public again, and private again. It's more common these days, with more private money in the market. And right now, being public is a distraction for Tesla. Too much energy spent fighting FUD.
Bruce Perens.