{"name":"Tesla Hiring Data (live data, 20 Sep 2026 to 17 Oct 2026)","question":"What is Tesla hiring for: how many roles, which kinds of work, at what advertised pay, and open to whom?","source":"Every day this site reads the public job boards of the robot training employers and programs it follows. Every Tesla figure is drawn solely from its own public listings, with full descriptions and application forms read wherever its job board provides them.","publisher":"RobotTraining.jobs","url":"https://robottraining.jobs/research/tesla-optimus-hiring-data","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","citation":"RobotTraining.jobs (2026). Tesla Hiring Data (live data, 20 Sep 2026 to 17 Oct 2026). https://robottraining.jobs/research/tesla-optimus-hiring-data (accessed 18 Oct 2026)","frozen_at":null,"report":"tesla-optimus-hiring-data","method":1,"edition":null,"window":{"from":"2026-09-20","to":"2026-10-17","days":28},"computedAt":"2026-10-18T16:38:11.379Z","summary":"Tesla had 164 robot training roles open on 17 Oct 2026 (15.9% of the market, the 2nd largest of 73 employers), 46.3% of them in AV & Drone Operators; 22.6% carried an hourly rate (median $27/hr), while all took applicants only from named countries, the United States above all.","stats":[{"id":"open-roles","value":"164","label":"jobs live on 17 Oct 2026, 15.9% of all listingst","figure":"compared-with-market"},{"id":"median-pay","value":"$27/hr","label":"median advertised hourly pay","figure":"pay-against-market"},{"id":"location-rule","value":"100%","label":"of its open roles take applications from named countries only","figure":"location-rules"},{"id":"main-kind","value":"46%","label":"of its open roles in AV & Drone Operators","figure":"kinds-of-work"}],"findings":[{"id":"size","figure":"compared-with-market","text":"On 17 Oct 2026, Tesla had 164 open roles: 15.9% of the 1,029 open at the 73 employers RobotTraining.jobs tracks, the 2nd highest count."},{"id":"main-kind","figure":"kinds-of-work","text":"46.3% of its open roles are in AV & Drone Operators, a kind in which Tesla accounts for 15.9% of every open role (the 2nd largest share among 29 employers); across the board it posts in 3 of the 7 kinds of work that had openings."},{"id":"pay-level","figure":"pay-against-market","text":"22.6% of its open roles put an hourly rate in the listing; the median is $27/hr (middle half $26 to $29), compared with $27/hr for priced roles at other employers."},{"id":"pay-within-kind","figure":"pay-against-market","text":"Holding the kind of work fixed (2 kinds have enough rates on both sides), Tesla's advertised median sits 16.3% below other employers', with a higher median in 1 of the 2; AV & Drone Operators shows the biggest difference ($27/hr against $35/hr)."},{"id":"access","figure":"location-rules","text":"None of its 164 open roles are open to people applying from anywhere (0.3% at other employers); all are restricted to certain countries, the United States chief among them (named by 90.9%)."},{"id":"turnover","figure":"listing-flow","text":"Between 20 Sep 2026 and 17 Oct 2026, Tesla put up 0 new listings and took down 5; tracking of it began on 14 Oct 2026."},{"id":"requirements","figure":"requirements","text":"Of the 164 roles Tesla lists with a full description, 0.0% require a college degree, 67.1% a driver's license and 64.6% a background check (at other employers that publish descriptions: 6.5%, 50.1% and 9.7%)."},{"id":"title-word","figure":"title-words","text":"\"Lead, supervisor or manager\" is Tesla's most common title word (40.9% of its open roles); at other employers it appears in 1.5% of open roles."}],"figures":[{"id":"compared-with-market","title":"Tesla next to the rest of the market","question":"Next to every other robot training employer, how big is Tesla, what does it pay, who can apply and how fast do its listings turn over?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Measure","unit":"text"},{"key":"platform","label":"Tesla","unit":"text"},{"key":"others","label":"Other employers","unit":"text"},{"key":"rank","label":"Rank (1st = top)","unit":"text"}],"rows":[{"key":"open","cells":{"group":"Jobs live on 17 Oct 2026","platform":"164","others":"865","rank":"2nd of 73"}},{"key":"market-share","cells":{"group":"Share of the whole market","platform":"15.9%","others":"84.1%","rank":"2nd of 73"}},{"key":"new","cells":{"group":"Newly posted in this period","platform":"0","others":"106","rank":"joint 27th of 73"}},{"key":"kinds","cells":{"group":"Kinds of work listed","platform":"3","others":"7","rank":"joint 3rd of 73"}},{"key":"stated","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Open roles with a posted hourly rate","platform":"22.6%","others":"20.8%","rank":"6th of 10"}},{"key":"median-pay","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Median advertised pay","platform":"$27/hr","others":"$27/hr","rank":"joint 3rd of 7"}},{"key":"worldwide","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Open roles accepting any country","platform":"0.0%","others":"0.3%","rank":"joint 1st of 10"}},{"key":"days-listed","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Median days up before removal","platform":"n/a","others":"32.5 days","rank":"n/a"}}],"sample":"Snapshot at the close of 17 Oct 2026: 164 open roles at Tesla and 865 across the 72 other employers RobotTraining.jobs tracks, with listings drawn from 20 Sep 2026 to 17 Oct 2026.","notes":["\"Other employers\" pools every remaining employer tracked over the same dates: their counts are added together and their medians come from all of their roles at once.","Ranks run across the 73 employers that had open roles. An employer is ranked on a measure only once it clears that measure's floor: 10 open roles for a share, 8 posted rates for a pay median and 10 removed roles with a known listing date for days listed. On days listed, the longest comes first.","Built from listings alone, as they appear on the employer's public job board."]},{"id":"kinds-of-work","title":"What Tesla hires for","question":"What kinds of robot training work does Tesla post, and how big a slice of each kind's openings belongs to it?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Kind of work","unit":"text"},{"key":"open","label":"Open roles","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its roles","unit":"percent"},{"key":"marketShare","label":"Its slice of all openings in the kind","unit":"percent"},{"key":"rank","label":"Rank within this job type","unit":"text","secondary":true},{"key":"median","label":"Its median per hour","unit":"usd","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"av-drone-operator","href":"/roles/av-drone-operator","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"AV & Drone Operators","open":76,"share":46.3,"marketShare":15.9,"rank":"2nd of 29","median":27}},{"key":"fleet-ops","href":"/roles/fleet-ops","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Robot Fleet Operations","open":59,"share":36,"marketShare":25.9,"rank":"1st of 20","median":27}},{"key":"demonstration-collection","href":"/roles/demonstration-collection","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Data & Demonstration Collection","open":29,"share":17.7,"marketShare":32.6,"rank":"2nd of 16","median":null}}],"sample":"Tesla's 164 open roles at the close of 17 Oct 2026. Market shares divide by the 1,029 roles open that day across all 73 employers.","notes":["Every role is sorted into one of the site's seven kinds of robot training work, based on what its title and description say.","Ranks within a kind count only the employers with open roles in that kind. No median is shown below 8 roles with a posted hourly rate."]},{"id":"pay-against-market","title":"What Tesla advertises it pays","question":"Does Tesla put a rate on its listings, and does it pay more or less than other employers for the same kind of work?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Roles","unit":"text"},{"key":"stated","label":"Stating an hourly rate","unit":"percent"},{"key":"median","label":"Its median per hour","unit":"usd","bar":true},{"key":"band","label":"Its middle half","unit":"text","secondary":true},{"key":"others","label":"Other employers' median","unit":"usd"},{"key":"gap","label":"Its median against theirs","unit":"percent","signed":true},{"key":"priced","label":"Its postings with a rate","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"all","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"All its open roles","stated":22.6,"median":27,"band":"$26 to $29","others":27,"gap":1,"priced":37}},{"key":"within-kind","cells":{"group":"Same kinds of work only (2)","stated":null,"median":null,"band":null,"others":null,"gap":-16.3,"priced":30}},{"key":"av-drone-operator","href":"/roles/av-drone-operator","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"AV & Drone Operators","stated":27.6,"median":27,"band":"$25 to $28","others":35,"gap":-23.7,"priced":21}},{"key":"fleet-ops","href":"/roles/fleet-ops","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Robot Fleet Operations","stated":15.3,"median":27,"band":"$26 to $27","others":27,"gap":1,"priced":9}},{"key":"demonstration-collection","href":"/roles/demonstration-collection","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Data & Demonstration Collection","stated":24.1,"median":null,"band":null,"others":25,"gap":null,"priced":7}}],"sample":"On 17 Oct 2026, 37 of Tesla's 164 open roles carried an hourly rate, against 180 of 865 at other employers.","notes":["Pay means the hourly rate written into the posting; where it gives a range, the midpoint is used. The middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile.","Medians appear only from 8 posted rates up, and a comparison needs that many on both sides. The same-kinds row averages the gap over every kind where both sides clear that bar, weighting each kind by how many priced roles the employer has in it. That way an employer that simply lists higher-paid work does not look like it pays more for identical work."]},{"id":"location-rules","title":"Where applicants for Tesla roles can be based","question":"Can people apply to Tesla from any country, or only from certain ones?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Location rule","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Its open roles","unit":"count"},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its roles","unit":"percent","bar":true},{"key":"others","label":"Share on other employers","unit":"percent"}],"rows":[{"key":"global","cells":{"group":"Open worldwide","roles":0,"share":0,"others":0.3}},{"key":"exclude","cells":{"group":"Worldwide except listed countries","roles":0,"share":0,"others":0}},{"key":"include","cells":{"group":"Only listed countries","roles":164,"share":100,"others":99.7}},{"key":"unknown","cells":{"group":"No rule stated","roles":0,"share":0,"others":0}}],"sample":"Tesla's 164 open roles on 17 Oct 2026, set beside the 865 open at other employers.","notes":["Each rule comes from the location written in the posting; if the posting says nothing, the employer's own statement about where it hires fills the gap. The rule only covers where applications are accepted. Tax, payment and work-permit rules may still apply."]},{"id":"countries-named","title":"Where Tesla's country-limited roles are open","question":"Which countries appear when Tesla restricts a role to certain places?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Country","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Limited roles naming it","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its country-limited jobs","unit":"percent"},{"key":"sole","label":"Open only there","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"US","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"United States","roles":149,"share":90.9,"sole":149}},{"key":"AR","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Argentina","roles":2,"share":1.2,"sole":1}},{"key":"AU","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Australia","roles":2,"share":1.2,"sole":1}},{"key":"KR","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"South Korea","roles":2,"share":1.2,"sole":2}},{"key":"GB","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"United Kingdom","roles":2,"share":1.2,"sole":1}}],"sample":"On 17 Oct 2026, 164 of Tesla's 164 open roles took applications only from named countries, and 162 of those named just one. Shown: the 5 most-named of 14 countries.","notes":["A role that lists several countries is counted under each one. \"Open only there\" counts roles whose list holds this country and no other."]},{"id":"listing-flow","title":"New and taken-down listings at Tesla","question":"How many roles did Tesla put up, and how many came down?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Measure","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Roles","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"others","label":"Other employers","unit":"count","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"open-start","cells":{"group":"Open as 20 Sep 2026 began","roles":null,"others":644}},{"key":"new","cells":{"group":"New listings","roles":0,"others":106}},{"key":"removed","cells":{"group":"Removed listings","roles":5,"others":107}},{"key":"open-end","cells":{"group":"Open as 17 Oct 2026 closed","roles":164,"others":865}}],"sample":"Tesla's listings, 20 Sep 2026 to 17 Oct 2026 (tracking began mid-window).","notes":["A new listing is a role that first appeared during the window, not counting the employer's opening week in this dataset. A removed listing dropped out of the feed during the window. One role can be both.","Tracking of Tesla started on 14 Oct 2026, so roles that showed up that week are treated as its back catalogue rather than new listings; there is also no opening count for it.","The opening count for other employers skips any employer whose tracking began inside the window."]},{"id":"title-words","title":"What Tesla calls the work","question":"Does Tesla title its roles operator, teleoperator, driver, technician or data collector, and how often each?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Title word","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Its open roles","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its roles","unit":"percent"},{"key":"others","label":"Share on other employers","unit":"percent"},{"key":"median","label":"Its median per hour","unit":"usd","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"lead","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Lead, supervisor or manager","roles":67,"share":40.9,"others":1.5,"median":null}},{"key":"operator","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Operator","roles":60,"share":36.6,"others":33.5,"median":27}},{"key":"data-collector","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Data collector or contributor","roles":58,"share":35.4,"others":24.7,"median":null}},{"key":"specialist","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Specialist","roles":37,"share":22.6,"others":9.7,"median":27}},{"key":"safety","thin":true,"cells":{"group":"Safety driver or safety operator","roles":4,"share":2.4,"others":10.8,"median":null}},{"key":"none","cells":{"group":"None of these words","roles":0,"share":0,"others":8.2,"median":null}}],"sample":"Tesla's 164 open roles on 17 Oct 2026, sorted by the words in each title, using the word list from the job titles report.","notes":["One title can contain more than one of these words ('Robot Teleoperator (AI & Robotics)') and counts under each, so the shares can total over 100%. Matching is on whole words and ignores case."]},{"id":"machines-named","title":"Robots and vehicles Tesla hires for","question":"Which robots and vehicles does Tesla name in its job titles?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"Robot or vehicle","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Its open roles","unit":"count","bar":true},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its roles","unit":"percent"},{"key":"marketShare","label":"Its share of every title naming this robot or vehicle","unit":"percent"},{"key":"median","label":"Its median per hour","unit":"usd","secondary":true}],"rows":[{"key":"car","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Cars and robotaxis","roles":128,"share":78,"marketShare":29.8,"median":27}}],"sample":"On 17 Oct 2026, 128 of Tesla's 164 open roles had a robot or vehicle in the title, 1 different ones in all.","notes":["Titles are matched on whole words against the robots and equipment report's list. A title that names two counts twice; a role that involves a robot or vehicle but never names one in its title is missed."]},{"id":"requirements","title":"What roles at Tesla ask for","question":"Do the roles Tesla lists require a degree, a licence, a minimum age, experience or checks?","columns":[{"key":"group","label":"The description","unit":"text"},{"key":"roles","label":"Its roles","unit":"count"},{"key":"share","label":"Share of its roles read","unit":"percent","bar":true},{"key":"others","label":"Other employers with descriptions","unit":"percent"}],"rows":[{"key":"any-degree","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Requires a college degree (alone or with an alternative)","roles":0,"share":0,"others":6.5}},{"key":"drivers-license","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Requires a driver's license","roles":110,"share":67.1,"others":50.1}},{"key":"credential","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Requires a CDL, Part 107 or pilot license","roles":1,"share":0.6,"others":10.8}},{"key":"age","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"States a minimum age","roles":0,"share":0,"others":19.3}},{"key":"lift","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"States a weight to lift","roles":13,"share":7.9,"others":32.9}},{"key":"years","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Requires years of work experience","roles":12,"share":7.3,"others":14.7}},{"key":"hours","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"States weekly hours","roles":0,"share":0,"others":8.1}},{"key":"checks","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Requires a background check","roles":106,"share":64.6,"others":9.7}},{"key":"drug","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Mentions a drug test","roles":106,"share":64.6,"others":8.2}},{"key":"shifts","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Mentions night, weekend or rotating shifts","roles":87,"share":53,"others":42.4}},{"key":"contractor","thin":false,"cells":{"group":"Mentions contractor or freelance terms","roles":0,"share":0,"others":3.9}}],"sample":"Full descriptions for 164 of Tesla's 164 open roles on 17 Oct 2026, set against 865 roles from the 72 other employers and programs whose boards publish descriptions. Median years asked: 3.","notes":["Read with the requirements report's readers: degrees, licences, age, lifting, years and background checks count only as requirements (a preference does not count); hours, drug tests, shifts and terms count wherever the description mentions them.","Years and hours get a median only when 5 or more roles state them. For an hours range, the lower number is used."]}]}