Dozens of Tesla employees have left Tesla for Apple since late 2017, according to research conducted by CNBC.

The Tesla employees that have left Tesla have joined multiple departments at Apple, with the hires not limited to Project Titan, Apple's car development effort.

appletesla

In 2018 so far, LinkedIn data shows Apple has hired at least 46 people who worked at Tesla directly before joining the consumer electronics juggernaut. Eight of these were engineering interns. This year Apple has also hired former Tesla Autopilot, QA, Powertrain, mechanical design and firmware engineers, and several global supply chain managers. Some employees joined directly from Tesla, while others had been dismissed or laid off before joining Apple.

A Tesla engineer who has kept in touch with his Apple colleagues spoke to CNBC and said that based on what he's been told, Apple appears to be taking steps to "more tightly control manufacturing processes and equipment used to make products."

A number of Tesla employees who have switched over to Apple have not yet updated their LinkedIn profiles with their new job descriptions, including notable hire Doug Field.

Field, who previously served as Apple's VP of Mac hardware engineering, rejoined the company after spending five years at Tesla overseeing the production of the Model 3. Field's hiring, along with rumors from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, have led to speculation that Apple is once again developing a full Apple-branded self-driving vehicle rather than focusing solely on autonomous software.

Tesla employees told CNBC that Field's departure from the company led to a dip in morale among engineers and technicians at Tesla. Even before Field left, however, more people were leaving Tesla for other companies like Apple.

According to Tesla, voluntary attrition has decreased by one-third over the last 12 months, with the company also claiming that it has added talent from Apple and other companies. From a Tesla spokesperson:

"We wish them well. Tesla is the hard path. We have 100 times less money than Apple, so of course they can afford to pay more. We are in extremely difficult battles against entrenched auto companies that make 100 times more cars than we did last year, so of course this is very hard work. We don't even have money for advertising or endorsements or discounts, so must survive on the quality of our products alone. Nonetheless, we believe in our mission and that it is worth the sacrifice of time and the never ending barrage of negativity by those who wish us ill. So it goes. The world must move to sustainable energy and it must do so now."

Apple's "leadership, competitive pay, and products" are among the driving factors that have encouraged employees to leave Tesla for Apple. Multiple sources told CNBC that Apple pays about one-and-a-half times the salary for technicians, software, and manufacturing engineers compared to Tesla.

Other employees have cited Apple stock and the volatility of Tesla CEO Elon Musk as factors for leaving.

Top Rated Comments

djcerla Avatar
90 months ago
And yet Apple Maps and Siri are almost unusable
I used Maps for a 4000km road trip in France and Spain. They have been flawless.

Siri, like all other digital assistants, is in its infancy.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
90 months ago
I am certain many would disagree, and for good reasons, but I think if Apple would acquire Tesla, which probably would require about $70B worth of cash and/or stock swap, many problems would be solved.

Tesla and Elon would no longer need to seek funding and talk to investors directly. And gain access to Tim Cook's supply chain and manufacturing leverage power and experience.

For Apple, Apple will be able to fold its Project Titan and CarPlay projects into Tesla and immediately gain access to charging stations and battery technologies.

Of course, the merger assumes Elon would be content running only the product and engineering side of businesses. Steve Jobs apparently did, but I am not sure Elon would be "fine" being under Tim Cook's leadership.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
doelcm82 Avatar
90 months ago
Ive is an acclaimed designer, Musk not. Cook is a supply chain genius, Musk not. If Apple ever acquires Tesla, they would fire Elon next day.
Musk is a visionary, and a genius at seeing the big picture. He is more like Jobs than either Ive or Cook.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b-dogg Avatar
90 months ago
Never going to happen. Elon Musk is looney tunes. I wouldn’t want him anywhere near Apple.
“Do you wanna sell watch bands for the rest of your life or do you want to come with Elon and change the future of transport and energy consumption”

Love Apple. Hate the past 5 years. Invested long in tesla. Elon has balls and ambition. Meanwhile Captain Cook and his crew are giving us more watch straps, $5k laptops that you can’t service and have abandoned the Mac line.

You tell me who is the loony tune.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPandian1 Avatar
90 months ago
It has to do with job-security and a wish to live, not Apple Car.

None of them want to go to Mars!:D
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
90 months ago
I am certain many would disagree, and for good reasons, but I think if Apple would acquire Tesla, which probably would require about $70B worth of cash and/or stock swap, many problems would be solved.

Tesla and Elon would no longer need to seek funding and talk to investors directly. And gain access to Tim Cook's supply chain and manufacturing leverage power and experience.

For Apple, Apple will be able to fold its Project Titan and CarPlay projects into Tesla and immediately gain access to charging stations and battery technologies.

Of course, the merger assumes Elon would be content running only the product and engineering side of businesses. Steve Jobs apparently did, but I am not sure Elon would be "fine" being under Tim Cook's leadership.
Never going to happen. Elon Musk is looney tunes. I wouldn’t want him anywhere near Apple.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...