Do you work at Tesla? Get the resources you need and expert insights from financial professionals who specialize in helping Tesla employees make the most of their compensation package and benefits.
Whether you’re a new Tesla employee or you’ve moved up the ranks into a management or executive leadership role over a multi-year career, it’s important to make smart money moves with your income and employee benefits. For example:
✅ Do you know the right moves to make to get the greatest value from the Tesla benefits available to you?
✅If you’re thinking about leaving Tesla for another job or planning to retire from the company in a few years, are you taking the right steps today to ensure you will receive all of the compensation and benefits that you’ve earned?
Get the Most Value from Your Tesla Benefits and Compensation Package
Throughout the year, Tesla provides its employees and executives with updates about their benefits ranging from health insurance and health savings plans to retirement plans like a 401(k), deferred compensation plans, and stock options. While the company offers many useful resources and access to knowledgeable staff who can assist with questions, you’ll also find financial professionals not affiliated with Tesla who specialize in helping Tesla employees make the most of their income and benefits.
Whether you work with Elon in the Tesla headquarters in Austin, Texas, another office location or gigafactory around the country, or remotely from home, you may have questions about your compensation package and benefits better suited for a financial professional who can offer unbiased advice and guidance.
For example, sensitive topics like discussing the steps you should take before quitting your job at Tesla to work elsewhere, protecting yourself in advance of a corporate layoff, or deciding when you should plan to retire are all conversations that may be more comfortable with a trusted financial advisor.
Should you hire a Tesla specialist financial advisor or an advisor close to home?
You’ll likely find dozens of nearby financial advisors well-suited to help you reach your money goals with a personalized plan. But it may be more difficult to find a financial advisor who specializes in serving Tesla employees.
Fortunately, many financial advisors offer virtual services so you can meet online no matter where you (or they) live.
This means you can choose to hire a specialist financial advisor who lives hundreds of miles away if you decide their knowledge and experience working with Tesla employees is a better fit to help with your unique needs.
💡 In the Q&A below, you’ll gain insights from financial advisors who work with Tesla employees to help them make smart decisions to get the most value from their compensation and benefits, reduce their money stress, and prepare for a comfortable retirement.
🙋♀️ Do you have questions not yet answered? Use the form below to submit questions anonymously and watch this article for updates with answers to your questions. You can also reach out to the financial advisors below to set up an introductory call or contact them with your questions by email.
💸 Smart Money Insights for Tesla Employees & Executives
This page is organized into sections to help you quickly find the information you need and get answers to your questions:
- Q&A: Financial Planning Tips for Tesla Employees & Executives
- Get Answers to Your Questions About Your Tesla Benefits and Career
- Quick Facts & Resources for Tesla Employees
- Browse Related Articles
Q&A: Financial Planning Tips for Tesla Employees & Executives
Answers to Employee Questions with Jessica Goedtel, CFP®
Jessica Goedtel is a financial advisor based in Allentown, Pennsylvania who specializes in offering financial planning services to Tesla employees. Jessica helps her clients get the most value from their Tesla benefits and compensation package so they can enjoy life and feel confident about their financial future.
Q: When you first speak with a Tesla employee, what questions do you like to ask to better understand their unique circumstances and determine how you can best help them achieve their goals?
Jessica: The most important question I have for anyone working at Tesla is how you feel about the company. The answer will have an impact on your financial plan. If you’re positive, negative, or even neutral about Tesla, share it so we can discuss your options. For example, if you’re feeling neutral or even negative, you may want to steer clear of enrolling in the ESPP plan. If you’re feeling positive, we’ll want to balance how much in company stock you’ll have while still being mindful of the risks.
Next, it’s important to review the possibilities of changes in your role. There’s been upheaval recently with Tesla employees, including layoffs and changes in remote work. If you think there is a chance you’ll be affected, having an open discussion can help you better prepare even if it doesn’t come to pass.
Your financial life doesn’t begin & end with Tesla. You’re a unique person with your own goals, values, and attitudes towards money. You should feel comfortable sharing this information with your financial planner. Are you thinking of buying a house in the next few years? Is it important for you to give back to your community? Is retiring early important to you? Does managing your money bring you anxiety? Tesla is only a small part of your life, even if it might play a big part in achieving those goals.
Q: Is there a particular benefit available to Tesla employees you feel isn’t as well utilized or understood by employees as it should be?
Jessica: One of the biggest reasons Tesla employees reach out to me is confusion about their incentive stock options (ISOs). These types of stock options require more caution and planning than Tesla RSUs (Restricted Stock Units). Stock options give you the right to buy a stock for a set price per share, usually called the exercise price (you are exercising the right to buy the shares). After that, they are yours to sell now or later – hopefully at a gain. You pay ordinary income taxes, like your wages, on the difference between the fair market value of the stock at exercise and the exercise price.
With ISOs, it’s a bit different. Hold the shares for at least two years from when they were granted and one year from when you exercise them. Then when you sell the shares, the gain is taxed at long-term capital gains rates and not ordinary income. This can mean huge tax savings, but it comes with some major risks. First, exercising and holding ISOs can trigger Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The IRS assesses a minimum tax that you’ll pay in the year of exercise even though you aren’t technically selling your shares. This tax is based on the value of the shares when you exercised them. While you can usually get this back when you sell future years in the form of an AMT credit, none of this tax will get withheld when you exercise your shares. You’ll need to have cash on hand when you go to file your taxes by April if you’ve exercised and held your ISOs.
Second, there is no guarantee that the stock will appreciate in price. For example, you exercise the right to buy 100 shares at $50 a share, and the stock is trading at $400 on the date of exercise. You plan to hold to get the special ISO tax treatment. After your two-year waiting period, the stock is only worth $200 a share. That’s more than your exercise price, but you paid AMT taxes on the higher price of $400 a share. Bad news: you paid a bunch of taxes and it may take you years to get them back.
What if the stock drops in value to less than the exercise price? You still have the same AMT problem, and you have an unrealized loss on your shares. Normally you can sell these and use capital losses to offset other capital gains plus up to $3,000 off your income. But if you are receiving RSUs or if you participate in the ESPP program, this gets complicated due to wash sales. Wash sale rules disallow losses if you replace shares within 30 days before or after selling your stock for a loss. This includes both your ESPP purchases every six months and vesting RSUs. This gets even more complicated when you layer in your blackout periods. You may find yourself with a very limited window to offload your shares that are at a loss.
Long story short, if you’ve got TSLA ISOs, consider talking to a financial professional who understands taxes on equity compensation. Tax planning can help determine any AMT taxes you might owe, avoid triggering wash sale rules and assist you in making any decisions.
Q: For Tesla employees thinking about leaving the company to accept a job elsewhere, what actions do you recommend they take before resigning and shortly thereafter?
Jessica: Read your stock plan award agreement! Under the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan Agreement, any unvested RSUs and stock options are forfeited when you leave. If you have any vested but unexercised stock options, you may have a limited window to exercise. Tesla’s 401k match is subject to a one-year vesting period. If you leave before your first year, you’ll walk away from any funds that Tesla has put in your 401k. Note: your own contributions you get to keep. You may still want to leave regardless, but better to know before you go what you are leaving on the table.
Q: What are some of the unique financial planning challenges you commonly see among your clients who are Tesla employees and how do you help them overcome these obstacles?
Jessica: Anyone who’s watched Tesla stock for more than a week knows that it’s volatile. Large swings are frequent. For Tesla employees reading this, if you believe in the long-term viability of the company you probably aren’t too worried. But as your stock grants continue to vest, your exposure to Tesla gets higher and higher. If bad news were to hit the company, your job and a large chunk of your net worth could be on the line.
You can help mitigate this by having a strategy in place to reduce your stock exposure to Tesla. Consider having a broader target price range going into your trading window in case of volatility. Make a plan for how many shares you want to trade, including which lots (if it’s vested RSUs) or grants if you are exercising. Write your plan down in advance and stick to it when the time comes. It’s almost impossible to make the perfect trade, and a plan can help you from second-guessing.
Q: When given the option, should Tesla employees choose stock options or RSUs?
Jessica: Usually, when you get hired or get promoted at Tesla, you have the ability to choose between options or RSUs (or a mixture of both). With options, you receive 3x the number of shares than RSUs. However, as noted above, options create a lot more challenges. Triple the shares sounds great, but there’s always the risk that the shares never go higher than the exercise price – making them worthless. If you’re confident the stock will continue to go up and you’ve got cash set aside to pay AMT taxes, this might be a good option for you.
RSUs can keep things simple – shares vest on a set schedule, and on each vest date you will receive your Tesla shares. Some shares will be withheld for taxes if you elect that option, but the rest are either yours to hold or sell. Choosing to receive RSUs and selling them as they vest can be a great option if you don’t want any more Tesla risk, or prefer knowing you’ll get at least some money.
Get to Know Jessica Goedtel Financial Advisor for Tesla Employees:
View Jessica’s profile page on Wealthtender or visit her website to learn more.
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Quick Facts & Resources for Tesla Employees
Tesla Quick Facts & Resources | Details / Useful Links |
---|---|
Tesla Corporate Headquarters Address | 1 Tesla Road Austin, TX 78725 (📍 Google Maps) |
How much do Tesla employees Make? | View Tesla Salary Research on Glassdoor |
Where can I learn more about careers at Tesla? | Visit tesla.com/careers |
How many people work for Tesla? | Tesla has around 100,000 employees worldwide (Source: Teslarati) |
What is the ticker symbol for Tesla stock? | The Tesla ticker symbol is TSLA. |
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About the Author
Brian Thorp
Founder and CEO, Wealthtender
Brian and his wife live in Texas, enjoying the diversity of Houston and the vibrancy of Austin.
With over 25 years in the financial services industry, Brian is applying his experience and passion at Wealthtender to help more people enjoy life with less money stress.