????今年，特斯拉公司的多位重要高管通過行使期權獲得數百萬美元收入，由此證明，在這家成立12年的電動汽車公司，長時間的努力工作可以帶來巨大回報。

????但有些高管卻在套現時，選擇離開公司或調任到其他職位。特斯拉一直以令人難以忍受的工作時間而著稱，而且公司有一位充滿激情的CEO埃隆?穆斯克，他在不斷促使員工突破極限。

????作為一家在硅谷主流工作文化中誕生和成長起來的公司，特斯拉漫長的工作時間加豐厚的回報，并非個例。盡管公司上市已有五年時間，但特斯拉與許多最具破壞性的互聯網創業公司一樣，依舊保持著靈活性和風險偏好。

????但如今，特斯拉將進入一個風險重重的關鍵發展階段，因為公司正在開發新的產品，而這些產品將使公司面臨巨大的挑戰。在某些方面，特斯拉的表現比以往更像是一家初創公司，而這也在將其高管逼向絕境。與此同時，為了實現經營目標，公司需要留住和招聘關鍵領導者。

????4年前，我對杰羅姆?吉倫進行了第一次采訪，當時他是特斯拉尚未發布的Model S車型的項目總監。Model S大獲成功之后，科班出身的工程師吉倫獲得了升職，成為公司全球銷售和服務部副總裁。

????吉倫在另一位高管喬治?布蘭肯希普離職之后接任了這個職位。布蘭肯希普當時表示，他將在退休后拿出更多時間陪伴家人。據彭博社專欄作家艾希莉?萬斯撰寫的特斯拉CEO個人傳記透露，2012年晚些時候，由于特斯拉無法將客戶的訂單轉變為銷售收入，穆斯克與布蘭肯希普的關系破裂。

????時間已經過去兩年多，吉倫在這個職位上一直表現出色。而且他也得到了回報。

????今年吉倫行使了股票期權，并將股票出售，凈賺400多萬美元。僅在5月11日一天，他行使期權和出售股票的利潤便接近300萬美元。

????不過，吉倫在特斯拉的未來并不明確。今年3月，特斯拉宣布重組全球銷售團隊，吉倫被調任到專注于客戶關懷的職位。與此同時，特斯拉重點強調說，吉倫并未被降職，他依舊是公司高管團隊的一員，直接向穆斯克匯報。

????但特斯拉最近的收益報告卻顯示，吉倫已經開始休假，休假時間將持續到年底。目前尚無法確認吉倫是否會回到公司。吉倫對特斯拉表示，他將在8月4日開始休假，特斯拉董事會隨后宣布，吉倫已不再是公司根據美國證券法規定需要報告持股情況的高管。

????長期擔任特斯拉首席財務官的迪帕克?阿胡加已經公開表示，他將離開公司。他在今年通過行使股票期權已經凈賺數百萬美元。六月份，特斯拉宣布，七年前加入公司的阿胡加即將退休，但他會一直留在公司，直到公司找到接替他的適當人選。

????在最近召開的一次股東大會上，穆斯克對52歲的阿胡加為公司做出的貢獻公開表示了感謝。阿胡加形容他的任期是“一次從未停止過的腎上腺素狂飆”，但他希望“完成自己遺愿清單上的夢想，追尋其他生活目標。”

????他從特斯拉賺到的數百萬美元，肯定可以幫助他實現這些目標。阿胡加今年通過行使期權和出售股份凈賺200多萬美元，僅在本周就有100萬美元入賬。

????在所有重要高管中，今年通過行使股票期權獲得收益最多的，當屬特斯拉聯合創始人兼首席技術官JB?斯特勞貝爾。他的股票期權有一部分在未來幾個月和明年到期。今年，斯特勞貝爾通過期權和出售股份凈賺近1000萬美元。

????但39歲的斯特勞貝爾似乎短期內并不打算離開特斯拉。相反，他不僅擔任了更公開的角色，還承擔了更多責任，比如幫助建立特斯拉最新的電網蓄電池業務，并負責在里諾附近興建規模龐大的特斯拉電池工廠。特斯拉的電網蓄電池業務主要面向公用事業和商業客戶銷售電池。

????今年的最后幾個月對于特斯拉至關重要。公司已經承諾將在下個月向消費者推出Model X SUV電動汽車。據公司宣布，屆時公司的產量將大幅增加。

????但要推出新車并在當前車型Model S的基礎上增加產量，將是極其嚴峻的挑戰。事實上，特斯拉已經將兩款汽車的總出貨量指導從之前的55,000輛，調低至50,000至55,000輛。

????不過，推出Model X只不過是特斯拉的一系列大動作之一。除此之外，公司正在興建一座規模龐大、史無前例的電池工廠，這是公司進軍電池行業的舉措之一。并且，公司已經進入剛剛興起的電網蓄電池行業，為特斯拉的產品線增添了全新的成員。

????此外，特斯拉還在加緊設計Model 3汽車。這款汽車成本更低，公司希望它的銷量能夠超過之前的型號。自特斯拉成立以來，穆斯克一直以銷售價格實惠的電動汽車為目標，而Model 3將是他實現這一目標的有力武器。

????要實現這些宏大的目標，特斯拉既要留住關鍵的資深員工，也要為空缺的關鍵職位尋找替代人選。而要找到合適的高管并保證他們在特斯拉過得高興，卻是一項艱巨的任務。

????特斯拉可以提供初創公司經常提供的經濟和個人獎勵，如令人愉悅的任務驅動型工作環境。但這種初創公司文化也會令員工精疲力竭。

????這種初創公司文化恐怕不會很快消失。它或許將成為特斯拉實現其瘋狂目標的鑰匙。但這也意味著特斯拉的高管們要繼續面臨艱難的選擇——是馬上套現全身而退，還是繼續為特斯拉的未來拼命工作。（財富中文網）

????譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

????審校：任文科

????A handful of Tesla’s key executives have made millions of dollars exercising stock options this year, showing how the long hours and hard work at the 12-year-old electric car company can lead to a big pay off.

????But some of those top managers have cashed in while exiting or shifting roles within the company, which has a reputation for grueling hours and a passionate CEO, Elon Musk, who pushes employees to the limits.

????Tesla’s long hours and big potential pay offs aren’t so unusual for a company born and raised in Silicon Valley’s hardcore work culture. Despite five years as a public company, Tesla still remains nimble and retains its appetite for risk, similar to many of the most disruptive Internet startups.

????But Tesla is now moving into a risky and crucial stage of its development, as it pushes to expand with several new products that involve colossal challenges. In some ways it’s acting more like a startup than ever before and likewise pushing its executives to the brink. At the same time, the company will need to retain and recruit key leaders to help it achieve its goals.

????When I first interviewed Tesla’s Jerome Guillen over four years ago he was the program director for Tesla’s not-then-released Model S. Following the success of that car, Guillen, an engineer by schooling, was promoted up in the ranks and landed a top job as vice president of worldwide sales and services.

????Guillen took over the job after exec George Blankenship left, who at the time stated that he was retiring to spend more time with his family. According to the biography of Tesla CEO by Bloomberg writer Ashley Vance, the relationship between Musk and Blankenship fell apart in late 2012 after Tesla started having trouble converting customer car reservations into purchases.

????Fast forward over two years later, and Guillen has had a good run at it. And has also been rewarded.

????This year Guillen exercised stock options, and then sold those shares to net over $4 million. On May 11 alone, he exercised options and sold shares for a profit of close to $3 million.

????But Guillen’s future with Tesla is unclear. In March, Tesla said it would reorganize its global sales team, and that Guillen would shift to a role that would focus on customer care. At the same time, Tesla emphasized that Guillen was not being demoted and would remain part of the senior executive team reporting to Musk.

????Yet according to Tesla’s latest earnings report, Guillen has now taken a leave of absence until the end of the year, and it’s unclear if Guillen will return to the company. Guillen told Tesla he would be taking the leave on August 4, and Tesla’s board subsequently decided Guillen was no longer an officer required to publicly report stock ownership under U.S. securities law.

????Tesla’s longtime CFO, Deepak Ahuja, who has publicly said that he’s leaving the company, has also made millions exercising stock options this year. In June, Tesla said that Ahuja, who joined the company seven years ago, would retire but would remain at the company until a replacement is found.

????At a recent shareholders meeting, Musk made a point to publicly thank the 52-year-old Ahuja for his work. Ahuja described his tenure as “a nonstop adrenaline rush,” but said he wanted to “check a few things off my bucket list and pursue other life goals.”

????The millions he’s made from Tesla will help Ahuja do that. Ahuja has exercised options and sold shares to net over $2 million this year, of which $1 million came this week.

????Of all of the key executives, Tesla’s co-founder and long time chief technology officer, JB Straubel, has made the most money this year from exercising stock options, some of which appear to be expiring in the coming months and year. This year, Straubel has netted close to $10 million from his options and stock sales.

????But the 39-year-old Straubel doesn’t appear to have any plans to leave Tesla soon. On the contrary, he has seemed to have taken on a more public role, as well as more responsibilities like helping build Tesla’s new grid battery business, which sells batteries to utilities and commercial customers, as well as helping lead the construction of Tesla’s huge battery factory near Reno.

????The final months of the year are a crucial time for Tesla. The company has promised to start shipping its Model X SUVs to customers next month. Production will then ramp up dramatically from there, according to Tesla.

????It will be a difficult challenge to deliver the new car, and build up production for it alongside that of its current car the Model S. Indeed, Tesla lowered its car shipment guidance for both cars together to 50,000 to 55,000 from a previous goal of 55,000.

????But getting the Model X to customers is just the first of the colossal endeavors Tesla has on its to-do list. In addition, the company is building a massive and first-of-its-kind battery factory as part of a push to become a battery maker. The company has also jumped into the grid battery industry, which has itself has only just emerged, and is a yet another entirely new product line for Tesla.

????On top of all that, Tesla TSLA -4.71% is hard at work designing the Model 3 car, a lower cost vehicle that it hopes will be able to sell in higher volumes than its previous models. Musk’s goal since Tesla’s founding has been to sell affordable electric cars, and the Model 3 is how he plans to do that.

????To achieve all of these huge goals, Tesla needs to both retain its key longtime employees, and find replacements for crucial roles that are now left unfilled. Finding the right executives and keeping them happy will be a difficult job.

????Tesla can offer the financial and personal rewards — an exhilarating, mission-driven work environment — that a startup offers. But it’s also got that startup work culture that can lead to burn out.

????This startup culture won’t likely go away any time soon. It will probably be the key to Tesla reaching its crazy goals. But it also means that Tesla executives will continue to have to make those difficult choices, weighing the rewards with the upsides.