Tesla and Waymo are aggressively hiring engineers from competitors this year, according to data from LinkedIn. Tesla poached 42 engineers from Cruise in January alone. Waymo added 37 former Aurora employees in February. This follows Tesla’s expansion of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) team in Austin, Texas, and Waymo’s launch of commercial robotaxis in Los Angeles last month.
The moves reflect a tightening market for autonomous vehicle talent. Cruise, which paused operations in November after a crash in San Francisco, laid off 900 staff including engineers. Aurora, facing financial pressure, cut 16% of its workforce in December. Meanwhile, Tesla’s FSD team now employs 800 engineers, up from 650 in October, while Waymo’s engineering staff grew from 1,200 to 1,450 since January.
Recruitment tactics differ. Tesla offers stock options and relocation packages to engineers willing to relocate to Texas. Waymo partners with universities for internships that often convert to full-time roles. Both companies declined to comment on hiring strategies.
The competition extends beyond the U.S. German automaker Volkswagen confirmed it hired 15 former Tesla engineers in Munich last quarter. Chinese EV maker NIO also recruited 23 engineers from Pony.ai in Shanghai, citing their experience with lidar systems.
Industry analysts say the talent war will persist as companies race to deploy commercial robotaxis. A senior engineer at Cruise, who asked not to be named, said the exodus is accelerating because remaining projects lack funding. Waymo’s recent expansion in Los Angeles suggests it is prioritizing scale over caution.
Source: techcrunch.com