Indian EV startup makes offer to interns spurned by Elon Musk

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Bengaluru-based electric vehicle startup Pravaig Dynamics has made offers to Tesla interns, who saw their offers getting revoked weeks before their start date, inviting them to join the Silicon Valley of India that will recognize and appreciate their talents.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s latest cost-cutting victims are summer interns with his flagship Tesla Inc, rescinding offers just weeks before internships were to start.

As several aspiring employees took to LinkedIn to express anguish at not being left with enough time to find replacement gigs for the summer, Pravaig offered help.

“At Pravaig Dynamics we understand the importance of feeling valued and supported in your career pursuits. That’s why we want to extend a genuine invitation to those affected by this unfortunate situation,” Shivangi Bagri, Partner at Pravaig wrote on her LinkedIn page.

Bagri, who looks after HR at the startup which manufactures electric SUVs as well as high precision batteries for EVs, said the Tesla appointment letter was enough testament to skills, experience, and potential that “doesn’t simply vanish with a revoked offer”.

“If you find yourself in limbo, unsure of what the future holds and have a genuine offer letter from Tesla, we’d be happy to have a chat with you to see how you could fit in at Pravaig.

“While we may not be able to replicate the exact opportunity you had envisioned with Tesla, we can promise a supportive environment where your talents are recognized and appreciated should you choose to move to the Silicon Valley of India and work at Pravaig,” she wrote.

Musk in recent days has dismissed two Tesla senior executives amid reports of plans to lay off hundreds more employees primarily because of falling sales and the pace of job cuts so far.

Bagri, in the post addressed to ‘Tesla Aspirants’, said a lot of unemployment has been in the news recently.

“From Big Tech firing people over maternity leave to companies finding every excuse to not fulfil their contracts with employees. It’s this piece of disheartening news (about Tesla revoking offers to interns) about our industry that left me truly wanting to do something about it,” she said.

Some individuals, she said, who were eagerly anticipating starting their journey with Tesla have had their offer letters unexpectedly revoked weeks before their intended employment.

“I can only imagine the disappointment, frustration, and uncertainty this turn of events must have caused for those individuals and their families. Transitioning to a new role, especially with an exciting company like Tesla, is an endeavor that requires both emotional and logistical preparation. To have that excitement abruptly halted is undoubtedly a tough pill to swallow,” she said.

Musk had last month announced that Tesla had “made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10 per cent globally”. While several executives have left the company since then, most of the company’s 500-person Supercharger division and its newly formed marketing team have been axed.

“Your journey may have hit a bump in the road, but together, we can navigate towards a brighter future. Let’s explore the possibility of working together, not as a replacement for what you lost, but as a new beginning filled with promise and opportunity,” Bagri wrote to Tesla interns asking them to get in touch with her or the HR team at Pravaig in case they are open to her idea.