Let's say thanks: Pizza for the factory employees

[TEG]

It is confirmed that the note has been received by factory employees.

Those bringing Pizza are deemed 'VIP customers'.

 

[Andyw2100]

I like that too, so how about this:
1) Send me e-mail at osultan at mac dot com with your partial VIN and how you want your name to appear on the banner
2) If you want to get a bit fancier, take a thick marker and sign your informal signature (how you sign birthday cards, I am not looking to build a collection of legal signatures :wink: ) on a sheet of paper and either scan it and send me a PNG of JPEG or take a pic and send it to me.

I'll start laying out the banner - still need folks to offer suggestions on the verbiage.

Great!

How about something like...

--
"Thanks for all your hard work building our cars this year and always!" --Tesla Motors Club Forum Users, December, 2014
--

Also you shouldn't have to foot the bill for this.

Originally the idea was we were all going to chip in for pizza, a banner, and perhaps use the remaining money for a donation. I think once you have an idea what the banner is going to cost, a few of us should help cover the cost.

 

[stevezzzz]

Here's what I wrote:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 23, 2014

To All You Fabulous Tesla Employees...

...who designed and built my Roadster, my Sig S and my new P85D, and who are helping to propel us all into a greener future:

Thank you!

It's not much, but it's from the heart. We who believe in Tesla the company know that it's the people in the work force who make great things happen, mainly through their tireless efforts and dedication.

We who drive the fruits of your labors marvel every day at the stunning achievements in concept, design and manufacturing required to bring us these automobiles. While it's true my Model S is the best car I've ever owned, by a country mile, it's also the ONLY car I've ever loved.

And I do love it, immoderately. It's a symbol of something larger, something fine and praiseworthy about American spirit, ingenuity, and grit: something you can all be proud of.

So, please: know that you're appreciated, every one of you. Keep up the good work, and continue to make _us_ proud to be the consumer face of such a great company.

[signed]

 

[andrewket]

Here's what I wrote:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 23, 2014

To All You Fabulous Tesla Employees...

...who designed and built my Roadster, my Sig S and my new P85D, and who are helping to propel us all into a greener future:

Thank you!

It's not much, but it's from the heart. We who believe in Tesla the company know that it's the people in the work force who make great things happen, mainly through their tireless efforts and dedication.

We who drive the fruits of your labors marvel every day at the stunning achievements in concept, design and manufacturing required to bring us these automobiles. While it's true my Model S is the best car I've ever owned, by a country mile, it's also the ONLY car I've ever loved.

And I do love it, immoderately. It's a symbol of something larger, something fine and praiseworthy about American spirit, ingenuity, and grit: something you can all be proud of.

So, please: know that you're appreciated, every one of you. Keep up the good work, and continue to make _us_ proud to be the consumer face of such a great company.

[signed]

This is a really nice letter, Steve.

 

[RichardL]

Just got back from the factory - absolutely awesome (in the correct meaning of the word).

There were some 2000 pizzas! Costco were delivering them on pallets.

I am sure Bonnie will provide a trip report, and a picture or two.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Great to hear! Thanks for the update, Richard.

 

[dsm363]

It was fun. They said the letters were a big hit with the employees so keep them coming. Great idea Andrew and the others here had to do this. It was well received and greatly appreciated by all at Tesla.

 

[omarsultan]

So, the timing ended up being ideal, as they are in the middle of the end-of-year crunch, so the morale boost was welcome. I am following up with Mark Lipscomb, VP of HR, on where we can hang a banner, which will dictate size, which then gives us some design parameters. With that, I can get a cost estimate and we can tin cup to cover it.

In the interim, keep sending me your info and ideas for the message.

 

[Sgt Barone]

Glad to hear it went well! Can't wait to hear a full report.

 

[CatB]

This is great! Can't wait to see pictures. I wish I could remember what I scrawled on my card at the last minute exactly, but I basically said that my P85 was a major attraction at our annual neighborhood steeplechase and that the first year, hardly anyone knew what it was and the next year, brand recognition was way up!
oh yeah, I addressed the card to all the other iron men and iron women at Tesla.
I will have to post the pix I sent from my laptop.

 

[evboost]

I saw the mountains of pizza boxes in the break area during my factory tour. The tour guide even made it a point to call out that it was pizza day. Everyone seemed to be quite cheery at that factory today.

 

[bonnie]

Mark just sent me a few photos that he took for us near one of the break areas (which means no, I didn't break my NDA) ... 2000 pizzas were ordered today, delivered during different shifts. They literally have trucks from Costco backing up at the dock, with pizzas on pallets for delivery. It was a LOT of pizza. FYI - Tesla has told people that the pizza was from owners on TMC (even though they picked up the full bill for us). And employees were smiling at us, very appreciative that customers actually cared about the work they were doing. Win for everyone. Thanks for letting me be part of such an awesome team.

 

[docgarner]

In the interim, keep sending me your info and ideas for the message.

I'd go with "Your work keeps us grinnin' " with a photoshopped montage of Model S owners sitting in their cars grinning/smiling (emphasis on faces/smiles) made 50% translucent to white and then faded 50% onto a backdrop of Tesla red.

Alternatives:
"We love the work you do"
"Smiling because of you"

 

[RichardL]

I can't emphasize enough how special Tesla made us feel today - we went there today to thank them and they made us feel really special. We got to see some special stuff - to go 'upstairs' and see production of many of the component pieces, plus see how the factory had matured. I was there a year ago and it was 25% utilized - today it is nearing 100% - and the place is quite simply breathtaking now.

I feel a real thrill to witness something really special as it occurs in American engineering.

Thank you again, Tesla, for allowing me to see this.

 

[bonnie]

Really no good place to post this, but thought I'd take a pic for those of you who save Tesla memorabilia ... this card was given, with special t-shirts, to the Tesla folks who were part of transitioning the old manufacturing line to what it is today.

 

[omarsultan]

Folks:

Update on the banner:

Size & Location:
We have tentatively settled on a 10' x 4' banner that will hang in the open office space area where many of the manufacturing folks sit (to the left of where the tours start). Mark is going to confirm the size tomorrow.

Timeline:
I'd like to use the next week or so to collect signatures, then finalize and produce/deliver the following week - maybe Jan 8 or so

Content:
Still working on the message - will post a couple possible messages this week based on suggestions so far, but keep the ideas coming and keep e-mailing me if you want your name on the banner. I only have 5 folks so far - I think it would look better if we have at least a couple of dozen names, but the more the better (see my instructions up-thread)

Cost:
The cost is pretty minimal - its a fun project for me right now. However, if you have holiday money burning a hole in your pocket, I have an alternate suggestion. When I am not on Tesla-related websites, one of the causes I support is an outfit called Alpha K9 that donates service dogs to vets with PTSD -- I am sure they would welcome any (tax-deductible) dollars you might want to send their way. Anyway, keep sending me names whether you donate or not.

O

 

[gpetti]

Folks:

Update on the banner:

Size & Location:
We have tentatively settled on a 10' x 4' banner that will hang in the open office space area where many of the manufacturing folks sit (to the left of where the tours start). Mark is going to confirm the size tomorrow.

Timeline:
I'd like to use the next week or so to collect signatures, then finalize and produce/deliver the following week - maybe Jan 8 or so

Content:
Still working on the message - will post a couple possible messages this week based on suggestions so far, but keep the ideas coming and keep e-mailing me if you want your name on the banner. I only have 5 folks so far - I think it would look better if we have at least a couple of dozen names, but the more the better (see my instructions up-thread)

Cost:
The cost is pretty minimal - its a fun project for me right now. However, if you have holiday money burning a hole in your pocket, I have an alternate suggestion. When I am not on Tesla-related websites, one of the causes I support is an outfit called Alpha K9 that donates service dogs to vets with PTSD -- I am sure they would welcome any (tax-deductible) dollars you might want to send their way. Anyway, keep sending me names whether you donate or not.

O

I will definitely participate in this as I can't help thinking that my reorder car - hopefully built soon - will benefit from all these happy(er) employees.

 

[Asphalt&Battery]

Since Tesla ended up covering the pizza,everyone should treat their local SC. I would probably skip the simple carbs though. Just sayin

 

[bluenation]

it was a nice and very correct decision for tesla to foot the bill for their own people, as opposed to accept TMC's money.

i agree that people here who wish to contribute, should do so for their local SC's. It would also accentuate the personal connection which you may already have with your centers.

I can't emphasize enough how special Tesla made us feel today - we went there today to thank them and they made us feel really special. We got to see some special stuff - to go 'upstairs' and see production of many of the component pieces, plus see how the factory had matured. I was there a year ago and it was 25% utilized - today it is nearing 100% - and the place is quite simply breathtaking now.

I feel a real thrill to witness something really special as it occurs in American engineering.

Thank you again, Tesla, for allowing me to see this.

wait, the fremont location is near 100% utilization? fascinating...

 

[HankLloydRight]

wait, the fremont location is near 100% utilization? fascinating...

Yeah, I found that remark rather odd too. There's no way Tesla has built out the entire facility just for models S and X. Maybe they've finishing building out the areas they started with.

I think the NUMMI plant produced 300,000 cars per year. I don't think Tesla is quite up to that level of production.