As I was reflecting on my time at Tesla and the various projects I've been a part of, I realized I've made almost 12,000 code contributions since 2012 to tesla.com 🤯
Taking international teammates to experience the Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA, 2015)
While each contribution has an interesting story to tell, what stands out to me most are the people I've met and worked with along the way, from all over the world, and the impact we've made together - it's been a real treat to say the least.
Manny is adaptable and a leader. This combination enables him to effectively navigate his team and business partners through evolving business requirements.
For anyone that would like to access their own contribution count to any git-based project, here are some instructions you can try out:
#- Get your own code contribution count #- from a git repo by running this command in your terminal git shortlog -sn --all --author="{YourName}" #- Replace {YourName} with, you guessed it: #- your name that you use to sign your commits (e.g. Manny, mbecerra, etc.) #- Learn more about initializing a git project at #- https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/quickstart/set-up-git
If you're a fellow colleague at Tesla, you can check out my git contributions at manny.teslamotors.engineer/contributions (note: you have to be within our firewall).
For the curious...
In 2012, and the few years after, we were a lot smaller than we are today, so the few of us who worked on tesla(motors).com wore lots of hats; it was a blast, and it's still a thrill to this day; it's just a different time with similar and unique challenges, along with some incredible, new and familiar people.
All Our Patent Are Belong To You (Tesla, Palo Alto, CA)
My DGN Bike In Front of Tesla (Palo Alto, CA, 2014)
With that, we've evolved as a department or division to meet the changing needs of the team itself, the company and our product line offerings, which are all anchored on our mission. Plus, our growth has let us specialize and focus more on our individual roles and responsibilities, which has been great for the team and the company.
Manny has gone above and beyond the call of duty more times than I can count, always delivering on impossibly tight deadlines yet always managing to keep a positive attitude despite the relentless pressure.
As I alluded to above, I've been fortunate to work with some of the most talented and passionate people in the industry, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have learned (and continue to learn) from them along the way. Together, we've built a world-class team and digital product ecosystem that has made an impact on advancing the mission of sustainable energy — hot diggity!
While not a complete list, the following are some memorable projects and moments that I've been a part of, led and supported at Tesla since 2012:
- Launching the Dual Motor w/Autopilot Configurators.
- Hiring with an emphasize on heart and potential not just function.
- Scaling our Web team both stateside and abroad and establishing SOPs.
- Launching the Model X Configurator and supporting first reservation holder deliveries
- Celebrating the wins: going out for tacos and Indian food with the team.
- Learning how to say simple greetings in colleagues' native languages.
- Launching the Model 3 Reservation System, which yielded tens of thousands of reservations in the first 24 hours.
- Supporting others across the company, at all levels, through mentorship, coaching and removing barriers to success.
- Launching the P100D Configurator — I still feel the ludicrous rush from this one! :P
- Supporting the Tesla Gigafactory 1 Opening Fiesta and Investor Relations event.
- That one time, when we worked out of the "back 40" of the Fremont Factory for a hot minute or two.
- Riding my bike to Palo Alto headquarters (a custom bike from the 80s with deep ties to the famous Deux Gros Nez cafe in Reno, NV).
- Uplifting Employee Resource Groups (ERG), DEI initiatives and empowering the next generation of engineers.
- Supporting and leading tesla.com production releases from the Bay Area, Reno, Mexico and the EU.
- Shepherding company-wide initiatives with other passionate people, like the JS Working Group, Frontend Meetup Series and the Tesla Design System crew.
- Representing the company at Northern Nevada STEM festivals and organizing visits for potential collaborations with local and regional businesses, educational institutions and nonprofits.
- Driving from Reno to Palo Alto to work on the "next big thing" with the team.
- Fostering a culture of inclusion, belonging and collaboration amongst my teams and groups.
- Picking up international teammates from the airport and showing them around the Bay Area (in which we found some amazing ramen noodles in Oakland/Berkeley).
- Celebrating Diwali and other holidays with the team.
- Taking in the sunrises and sunsets while driving home through the Nevada desert on I-80 🌄.
- Supporting the Battery Swap event (an oldie but goodie).
There's so many more moments and experiences that I cherish, especially with others, but I'll save those for another time.
Manny has been a servant leader for the many years that I’ve known him: kind above all else, thoughtful of his peers and creative in his approach to problem solving.
Here's to the next round of contributions, experiences, impact and beyond!