Tesla publishes its first diversity report, here are the key figures

Elon Musk’s electric car and renewable energy company released its first-ever diversity report on Friday evening. He said Tesla has a “majority” American workforce overall, but 83% of employees in managerial positions are men and 59% are white.

According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, companies with more diverse management teams report higher innovation revenues. And increasingly, publicly traded companies are required to disclose more information about the makeup of their workforce and to add people from diverse backgrounds to their boards.

Tesla’s first diversity, equity and inclusion impact report offers less detail than the diversity reports of major tech companies, including Google and Apple, which have started posting demographic information on their workforce in 2014. However, because Tesla makes cars, software and energy products, it’s hard to compare to its peers in tech or automotive.

Tesla has revealed a comprehensive analysis of its current US workforce. Here are some highlights:

• Tesla’s men represented approximately: 79% of the workforce, 83% of managers, 75% of new recruits and 77% of promotions in 2020.

• Tesla’s women represented approximately: 21% of the workforce, 17% of executives, 25% of new hires and 23% of all promotions in 2020.

• Tesla’s black and African-American employees made up approximately: 10% of the workforce, 4% of managers, 12% of new recruits and 10% of promotions in 2020.

• Tesla’s Asian employees represented approximately: 21% of the workforce, 25% of managers, 20% of new recruits and 23% of promotions in 2020.

• Hispanic and Latino or Latin employees made up approximately: 22% of the workforce, 4% of managers, 27% of new recruits and 24% of promotions in 2020.

• White employees represented approximately: 34% of the workforce, 59% of managers, 32% of new recruits, 35% of promotions in 2020.

Tesla counted people from Pacific Island communities, Native Americans, Hawaiians, and Alaska as part of an “Additional Groups” category.

• Employees in Tesla’s “Additional Groups” category comprised approximately: 7% of the workforce and 1% of the managers.

Tesla’s first diversity report hasn’t come out how many of its employees have identified themselves as having a disability. Also, the gender data is approximate as Tesla did not include numbers on non-binary and gender non-compliant employees.

The report also does not address employee attrition (or retention rates) and excludes intersectional analysis. This means, among other things, that it’s difficult to determine whether employees from under-represented groups quit or were fired by Tesla at a higher rate than white colleagues. The company was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC early Saturday.

Attrition is a particularly important metric for Tesla. The company is offering a stake in Tesla as part of its compensation for all roles and uses that promise as a recruiting tool. The longer an employee stays, the more shares they can buy or acquire.

The lack of intersectional analysis in the Tesla Diversity Report also obscures whether, for example, people of color at Tesla are promoted at the same rate as whites, or whether people of color who are military veterans are hired more. or less often than white veterans. .

Overall, Tesla’s Diversity Report says veterans currently make up about 4% of the company’s U.S. workforce.

The report follows a number of allegations of discriminatory treatment at Tesla by employees and former employees over the years. Tesla has denied any wrongdoing.

Finally, in its report, Tesla laid out plans to keep its workforce at least as diverse as it is today, or to make it more diverse and inclusive.

Along with other initiatives, Tesla has said it will recruit from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), offer a range of new learning opportunities, and conduct unconscious bias trainings for all people managers and recruiters in 2021. .