Elon Musk is a very busy man.
He is involved in several companies that he founded or co-founded. The entrepreneur, who never declines a challenge, promised to bring astronauts into space, prompt us to drive electric cars, install giant batteries in homes and connect our brains to computers. He's been there and done that.
At Tesla (TSLA), the manufacturer of high-end electric vehicles, the billionaire is at the helm and simultaneously holds several other positions. He is chief executive but also product manager, director of communications and -- especially -- head of sales.
Indeed, Musk is the one who knows best how to sell Tesla cars, the technological innovations that equip them, the new models. When he makes an announcement, Tesla fans, buyers and potential buyers listen. It's the "In Musk We Trust" model.
At Tesla Musk also has an almost catch-all title: Technoking. He chose this title as a joke to show that titles mean absolutely nothing, as he explained last year at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit.
“I just did that as kind of, like, a joke--just to show that these titles don’t mean a lot," Musk said.
Recruiter in Chief
Another example of why titles don't really matter to him is what he does at SpaceX.
He is the ambassador for Starlink, the satellite internet connection service offered by SpaceX. He regularly tweets the latest news and updates about the rocket company to his nearly 83 million followers. The only role Musk has yet to play publicly is that of a passenger on one of SpaceX's space flights.
In addition to SpaceX and Tesla, the richest man in the world is also involved in Neuralink, the brain-chip company he co-founded in 2016. The company is looking to build interfaces between human brains and external electronic devices.
According to Musk, the first version of this product is able to transmit information on the muscular activity of the person wearing it via Bluetooth technology. In other words, with each of your movements, the chip can identify the location of your muscles.
At Boring Co., the firm he founded in 2016, Musk now has a new role: chief recruiter. The billionaire has just posted a message on Twitter to encourage people to join the company, which digs tunnels to decongest large city centers and solve traffic.
"Please consider working at The Boring Company!" Musk tweeted on April 20. "Our goal is to solve traffic, which plagues every major city on Earth," he added.
On Boring Co.'s website, the company lists more than 70 positions in Las Vegas, Austin, and Bastrop, Texas, 40 minutes southeast of Austin.
The majority of job postings are for engineers. But Boring Co. is also recruiting technicians and mechanics in its production activities, human-resources staffers, safety representatives, financial analysts, and security guards. It is also offering positions for interns for summer 2022.
Most roles are full-time but part-time positions are also available.
Boring Co. Is Growing
Musk's HR proposal comes when the labor market appears to have shifted in favor of employees. Companies are struggling to find talent to fill job vacancies, according to various media reports.
Musk must undoubtedly tell himself that working with him and for him can be a strong attraction for certain candidates.
Boring Co. also seems to be at a pivotal moment in its young history. The company has just raised $675 million from an investor group led by venture firms Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, 8VC, Craft Ventures, and DFJ Growth. The transaction values the firm at $5.68 billion.
"Purpose is to recruit amazing people, scale up boring machine production & build thousands of miles of tunnels," the company said.
"The funds from the round will be used to significantly increase hiring across engineering, operations, and production to build and scale Loop projects, including Vegas Loop and others, in addition to accelerating the research and development of Prufrock and future products," the company said in a blog post.
Loop is an all-electric high-speed underground public transportation system in which passengers are transported to their destinations with no stops. The first major Loop built by Boring Co. is Vegas Loop, which is located in Las Vegas. It's a 29-mile tunnel network connecting 51 stations.
Prufrock is the next generation tunnel boring machine designed to develop mega-infrastructure projects in a matter of weeks, and at a fraction of the cost, according to Boring Co.
