Exclusive: Is Tesla Motors Really Paying Gigafactory Employees $25/Hour?

The Detroit Free Press on Monday discussed Tesla Motors Inc TSLA's plan to pay its Gigafactory employees an average wage of $25 an hour at its site in Reno, Nevada.

The publication cited an earlier report by the Reno Gazette-Journal in which Mike Kazmierski, CEO of the Reno-based Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada cited "wage inflation" as a catalyst prompting technology-minded companies (like Tesla) to pay its employees $25 an hour.

The alleged average wage is higher than nearly all automakers in the U.S. Under a 2011 UAW contract, newly hired workers will be paid $15.78 an hour. Kristin Dziczek, the director of labor and industry group at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, told the Detroit Free Press that Tesla's alleged pay scale is unlikely to cause any short-term pay hikes among the Big Three or its suppliers.

Tesla: Reno Gazette Is Wrong

Benzinga reached out to Tesla Motors for commentary on the suggested pay structure. A spokesperson responded that the Reno Gazette-Journal "got the facts wrong, again."

"We never stated that we will pay Gigafactory employees $25/hour," the spokesperson responded in an email to Benzinga. "While we won't comment specifically on Tesla employee compensation, we did submit an application to the State of Nevada last October which included projections of average hourly wage costs for its operational workforce that were informed by regional wage trends."

Shares of Tesla traded recently at $207.53, down 1 percent.
Posted In: NewsExclusivesDetroit Free PressGigafactoryKristin DziczekMike KazmierskiTeslaUAWWage Inflation
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