Influencer's Magazine
2018 Toy’s For Tot’s Drive
Words From The Editor
Straight From The Top
Powerwall Illuminator
Living Your Best Life Now!
And so much more!
Table of Contents Straight From The Top!
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Words From The Editor
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Company Picnic 2018
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African American Student Summit
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Powerwall Illuminator
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Halloween Costume Contestants
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Marine “Toys For Tots” Toy Drive
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Holiday Celebration Party
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Ugly Christmas Sweater Day 2018
Live Your Best Life Now!
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Straight From The Top! “Team – Wow! What a year. Thanks for pivoting multiple times to do what’s best for our customers and for Tesla. My goal in 2019 is to make this call center a place you all feel like you GET to come
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Words From The Editor
We’ve been given the opportunity to witness and participate first-hand in a global historical event that will indubitably have a strong impact on people’s lives and our planet. While there were challenges along the way, our passion and perseverance made us a formidable team. 2019 promises to be a big year for technology trends, but it will also be a year for personal growth in all areas of our lives, as we forge ahead to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. Have an amazing 2019!
Garrett Johnson | Manager, Inside Sales | Energy
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Company Picnic 2018
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African American Student Summit
“The African American Student Summit was a successfully enlightening event for ourselves and the students. Tesla was the only “The African American Student Summit was a successfully enlightening event for ourselves and the students. Tesla was the only employer in attendance, focused on discussing options for post-graduation to the students, among the educational services who were also in attendance. We saw a lot of interest in career opportunities within Las Vegas
“The African American Student Summit was a successfully enlightening event for ourselves and the students. Tesla was the only employer in attendance, focused on discussing options for post-graduation to the students, among the educational services who were also in attendance. We saw a lot of interest in career opportunities within Las Vegas and Reno alike, including possible internships. We learned during the event that Clark County is the fifth largest school district in the nation, and Tesla is fortunate enough to be one of the only companies that participates in targeting growth and educational advancement for its students.” By, Candice Clark Project Coordinator
and Reno alike, including possible internships. We learned during the event that Clark County is the fifth largest school district in the nation, and Tesla is fortunate enough to be one of the only companies that participates in targeting growth and educational advancement for its students.” 6
Powerwall Illuminator By Stephen Singletary Inside Energy Advisor, Powerwall
What Does It Mean To Be On The Powerwall Team? We are working with a product that was the first of its kind with the launch of Powerwall 1. Powerwall 2 is a much more developed solution, leading to a greater variety of applications. Because of the broad range of use-cases, it is imperative that the Powerwall team is made up of expert advisors who specialize in customer advocacy and rapid process iteration.
On Being An Expert Expertise is what sets Tesla apart from the other guys. Batteries are not a new concept, and many of the early adopters and Tesla Advocates we speak to understand the technical side of the equation as well or better than someone who sells Sonnen or LG Chem. We pride ourselves on expertise and relish the opportunity to look at projects that are a little outside the box. As a meritocracy, Tesla rewards those who take the initiative to learn more than the bare requirements of our position. That means knowing why our batteries can achieve 100% depth of discharge, how the heat or cold impacts backup duration and charge times, and whether a given area will allow off-grid installations. Our Sales Training and Tesla Academy teams are committed to inspiring excellence and making Tesla experts from mere salespeople (like those other guys).
On Being An Advocate I believe that as a business we are obligated to sell whatever is in our power to deliver on, into a buyer's hands. This is the lifeblood of the system we make our living on. As a movement, we should set our sights on loftier goals: Inspiring the public to join us as Advocates (capitalization intended) on our mission “To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy”. An Advocate is willing to go the extra mile to share the Tesla life with others who are just discovering what is available to them. A great example on the vehicle side of the business are Model S, X, and 3 owners who volunteered for orientation on new deliveries. These folks aren't being paid, their compensation comes from the smiles on the faces of new Tesla owners. On the solar side, you'll find customers who are willing to talk to permitting offices and utilities on our behalf, sometimes with media support, to pave the road for their community to transition to sustainable energy. These Advocates are most comfortable with people of like mind: Tesla superfans, some might go as far as to say Disciples of the First Church of Elon Musk. Earn their trust, and not only will you close the sale, you'll prime a referral engine that will drive premium business for you.
On Being A Teammate The dynamic environment that we work in can be challenging to adapt to. Veterans of the "Solar Coaster" 7
Advisors or other specialized roles in times of need, can make it stressful around the office. That stress can drive you forward if you have the right support, or it can cripple and isolate you. As a good teammate, you should share best practices freely throughout the floor, and speak up loudly and clearly when something isn't working. That doesn't mean complaining without being a part of the solution. Over the length of your career here, there will be times when you see your coworkers as much or more than your families, so be nice, be constructive with your criticism, and come into work every day with joy on your face and love in your heart.
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My journey with Powerwall I started working with Powerwall 2 at the end of 2016. At the time, our team of four knew next to nothing about the applications and were working from little more than a spec sheet and a list of people to talk to. Over the course of the next two years, we have grown to two dozen people, adding two managers, and incorporating at least 5 pilots into our process flow. We are routinely tasked with additional workloads as necessary, which is a lot of fun if you thrive in the hustle and bustle of new things to do and learn like I do. I love that I get to talk with people all over the country who are interested in the product for every possible application under the sun: I've talked to people who want this for their houseboat, their food truck, their tiny home, their well pump, light commercial applications and even an enterprising soul who wanted to run the town's flood gates! By far, the most exciting application I've been a part of bringing to fulfillment so far has been Sol Lux Alpha. Located right around the corner from PG&E's energy center in San Francisco, Sol Lux Alpha is a luxury condominium with a building integrated PV system on the roof. A total of 12 Powerwalls run the common area and each of the 4 units in the complex. It was a challenge doing something that had never been done before, but that's what makes working at Tesla so cool: We are pushing the state of the industry forward every day, leading the charge to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. There's a lot of growth yet to come if we want to move the needle on a global scale. It's my honor and privilege to be one small part of the whole team.
Come find me at my desk or reach out via email ssingletary@tesla.com with any Powerwall questions or if you'd like to be friends.
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Halloween Costume Contestants
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2018 Toy Drive When you donate to Marine Toys for Tots you are helping to bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America’s less fortunate children.
TEAM, Not only did we hit our site goal, but we surpassed it by 40 toys! You should all be proud of yourselves for what you’ve accomplished to provide toys for so many children tis holiday season. And of course we can’t forget the team prize! The team taking home the cake (or rather, pizza)… Ari Antonelli! Thank you all again for your amazing efforts, this was a tremendous success!
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Holiday Celebration Party & Ugly Sweater Day 2018
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LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE NOW! How I balanced my work, my family but most important my fitness journey” By Yanis Banks | Referral Energy Specialist, Inside Sales To better understand my journey, I will start with my transition of leaving my birth place Cuba and coming to the United States of America, the land of free. Being born and raised in a country where food was scarce, and sometimes having to go to bed hungry, as a growing child. Image was never something I had to worry about. I was always involved in a very active lifestyle and I was healthy, once I made the journey to come to the United States, food was always readily available everywhere I went. I remember the first time I went to a grocery store. Every shelf was covered with food and I had to ask my uncle if it was real. As, the years went by I struggled in school trying to control my weight because food was just everywhere and accessible at all hours of the day and fitness wasn’t an inherent trait as it was in Cuba. Fast forward to my first child when I was about 24 years old. My body changed so much I couldn’t stay as healthy and keep up with a fit lifestyle. I had to sacrifice working out because my work schedule as a jail intake officer was so rigorous, that my energy levels weren’t high enough to keep me going through a 12hour shift that consisted of a 7am-7pm, and after 65 days it switched to a 7pm-7am work day. Having a military spouse also adds a lot of anxiety and stress from all the constant moves every 3-4 years, coupled with a regular rotation of a deployments every six months. But most importantly figuring out how to incorporate becoming a full-time mother to the mix. At seven and a half months pregnant my husband and I drove from Valdosta Georgia to Oklahoma City and three months later, I gave birth to my first child Amelia. During that time my mother suddenly passed away from a bad reaction to medication, she was prescribed at a local hospital in Cuba. I left Cuba when I was just 12, so I hadn’t seen my mother since 2000. As a stay at home mother with a small infant to care for, I had to place that grief deep down into a box and put it away. Probably wasn’t the best way to cope, but the routine of a new parent staying at home most days, not going outside, changing diapers, breastfeeding, cooking and cleaning drove me into a very deep postpartum depression. Days just became a blur, I went days sometimes without showering. Most days I would stay in my pajamas until the next, or I would even forget to brush my teeth. I wouldn’t go out for a week or so at a time and just kept thinking and acting like that was a normal behavior because I was a new mother. It wasn’t until my depression started interfering with my personal life, with my husband that I realized there was a real problem and I had to seek help for my own sake and the wellbeing of my family. While all this was happening, I looked at myself in the mirror and I hated what I was seeing so much to the point where I wanted to physically cut my belly with a knife and cut the fat out myself until I looked beautiful again. But, shortly thereafter; I sought professional help and I went to see a doctor and talk about what I was dealing with. The doctor’s response was to prescribe a low dose antidepressant, I’ve never been a person who likes to take medication to fix problems, but since my doctor felt that was the best course of action, I followed through with it. I started the medication and I immediately realized it wasn’t a good option for me because I started to get really dizzy and extremely nauseous. After going back and forth a couple different times to see the doctor and her advising to cut the dose in half, I decided to stop taking the medication completely and I decided to start running instead. I would run on the air force base trails they had with my daughter in a jogger stroller my husband had gifted to me, to support my decision. I started with one mile every day, I’d walk/run uphill and downhill. A month later I was running about three miles every day and I felt so liberated and free. The huge black cloud above me had disappeared; my energy level and confidence peaked, and I was smiling and back to feeling like my true self again. Soon afterwards we received orders again and moved to Las Vegas. It took me a little while to 17
When life interrupts your goals, you just need to keep rolling with the punches and put yourself aside for the good of your family. Any parent out there will tell you when you have a child, your own personal needs are no longer a top priority like they were before you had them. I have always wanted better a childhood for my kids than what I grew up with. My parents did the best they could under the circumstances we had living under a communist dictatorship. It was my first summer experiencing the harshness of a Vegas summer heat. This first job I had was door to door sales and I had to go around town knocking on doors to sell groceries. I will not lie, there were days where I had door after door slammed in my face while I sweated my butt off walking miles at a time. I hated my job some days, but I always went into work with a positive attitude because I knew that at the end of the day my daughter was happy, and I was also getting a lot of physical activity out of it. I lost quite a bit of weight within those couple of months. I was then referred to SolarCity aka (Tesla) by a good friend, and my life changed completely. I knew I was about to become part of a huge movement that would change the way people looked at how to meet their energy needs; and the economically viable, environmentally sustainable solution that solar power offered. I spent most of my day at work and 2 hours driving back and forth each day, leaving me little time to exercise. Two years later I became pregnant with my now 2-yearold, and life just got a lot more complicated than before. My kids and husband were a source of strength and support I needed. They are my everything and it is because of them I am the person I am today because they make me want to be better and never settled for less. Soon after my husband was deployed overseas, and I was the sole provider for my 7-year-old and my 6-month-old infant plus a dog. If life with two kids and a full-time job wasn’t complicated enough add the death of your family’s dog to the mix. I don’t know that I could have survived my husband absence without the support and understanding of my supervisor Leo Lingle, who understood how demanding a military lifestyle can be as well as having to call in every couple of weeks because my infant was sick, or my 7-year-old school was closed due to unforeseen circumstances. I felt like I was losing my mind but thanks to the support of my best friend who is also a military spouse and my work family I got through it. Soon after my husband came back from his deployment my friend Lora asked me if I wanted to start going to the YMCA with her and work out. All it took was once class and I never looked back. We started going four times a week including weekends. The first week was the hardest I was sore in places I didn’t even know existed. We started going to Less Mills classes which included Body Combat, Body Pump, Sprint and CX. One great thing is that I was able to bring my kids, since the YMCA has daycare for parents. While I worked out the kids were having a great time as well, and I always looked forward to it. The class instructors were so energetic and kept you engaged, it made working out so much fun that I would forget I was at the gym. One thing you must know about me is that when I commit to something I go all in and I give it everything, 100% isn’t enough I have to be at 120%. In a period of a year I went down from a size 14/12 to a size 6. Last time I remember being a size 8 in pants was when I first married my husband. The impact that a healthy, active lifestyle has had on me and my family’s life is incredible! I have more energy to keep up with my kids, and I happier and more confidence than ever before. I believe that moderation is key, because a diet just isn’t my cup pf tea. While it might be great for some, it just isn’t for me. I work hard enough at the gym that if I want to enjoy Chick-Fila one day a week I will. I don’t overdo it; if I eat fried chicken for dinner, I won’t eat doughnuts soon after. I always allow myself to enjoy one day a week where I eat whatever I want, and I don’t regret it. I do believe in hitting the gym hard the next day to compensate for allowing myself to indulge. The way I look at it is life is too short and I admit it I love food and there is nothing wrong with that, you just need to understand that moderation is key. We women are constantly judged not just by men but by women as well who feel you must look a certain way because that is what society has placed as acceptable these days. Coming from a culture or family where you are constantly being teased about your weight sticks with you and you then start to see yourself that way. After 18
not afraid to say it because I know I am better for it.
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The road less traveled has already been paved; by Influencer’s determined to find a way. Balancing work, health, family, friends, and fun; we take the bull by the horns and do what needs to be done. We don’t let anything get in our way! As we start living our “Best Lives” today! By JdeVa
*If you have a story idea, inspiration to share or desire to be on the Influencer’s Magazine team, please contact us at jdevarreau@tesla.com.
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