The Tesla team in China appears to be taken a decidedly different approach than their counterparts in North America. A number of recently published job postings show the company is focusing on boosting its public relations to tackle reports of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in the country.
According to the job postings shared to Twitter by Tesla enthusiast @Ray4Tesla, a number of them are in categories never seen before, including external affairs, public relations, legal affairs, as well as graphic design and new media.
“Join Tesla & be who you want to be,” an inspiring slogan found in the most recent hiring campaign of Tesla CN, which lists 5 interesting categories never seen before: external affairs, PR, legal affairs, graphic design & new media. Recurring ones are accounting, marketing & HR. https://t.co/IvV69McQoh pic.twitter.com/uzcHl3poLE
— Ray (@ray4tesla) August 16, 2021
Applicants interested in the external affairs job postings can select between two Senior Manager of External Affairs roles. Both positions are based in China’s capital city of Beijing. The team is also looking for External Affairs Managers in other cities like Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
The job postings come after Tesla has faced sharp, and unfounded, criticism in China over its safety and reliability record. Perhaps the most infamous were the numerous claims of brake failure in Tesla vehicles.
One such claim made international headlines when a protestor jumped on the roof of a Model 3 at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year. The owner of a Model 3 alleged the brakes failed when her father was behind the wheel of the car. Data later revealed by Tesla showed the car was speeding at the time, and the car’s active safety features actually reduced the impact of the crash.
Ultimately in that case, and in many others, the “victims” later admitted the claims were false, but the damage had been done. Tesla appears to be preparing to take a proactive approach in the future with these job postings.
