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Comment by FroshKiller | Hacker News Reader

Man, don't be giving a corporation kudos for NOT doing shit they OUGHT NOT do in the first place.

Why not? Tesla is seen as a company with ambitious grandiose plans. It's a common Silicon Valley cliché for startups and companies to claim they're changing the world. Tesla is one of the few companies that can legitimately claim an important mission. With all the stories (Tesla or otherwise) about SV companies overworking their employees in the name of holy missions, it's nice to see an example of what looks like an amicable parting.

According to the article, Lee was able to launch and his own startup for a year, while still working full time as a product manager at Tesla. Would most startup or startup-like (trying to reach stable profit) companies be OK with that?

As someone who has worked at Tesla and a couple startups, there's never been anything in their contracts about other jobs as long as it's not with a competitor.

I encourage everyone to push back against wording that is more restrictive than that. In fact CA (and I believe WA as well), it is unlawful for employers to be more restrictive than that[0]. Employment shouldn't make an employer the owner.

Tesla had no legal leverage whatsoever to ask for a cut.

[0]: https://californiaemploymentlaw.foxrothschild.com/2015/03/ar...

I'm still unclear on the concept of giving a company kudos for not doing something the law will punish them for doing.

It's the equivalent of saying we should all get kudos for not stealing from each other. You've made the act of stealing the baseline for moral judgment rather than the reprehensible exception.

My full first sentence gave kudos for both being a company that allowed a sidegig and not being a jerk about demanding a cut. Yes, the law protects employees from a company seizing IP outright, or from pressuring them to work longer hours. But there's nothing stopping a company from being hostile -- either not taking the employee's word that he didn't use any company time/resources on his hobby, or pressuring/firing him for not staying late like his co-workers. By his account, he was able to pick a comfortable time to leave:

https://blog.usejournal.com/how-we-made-1m-in-3-months-the-s...

"According to the article, Lee was able to launch and his own startup for a year, while still working full time as a product manager at Tesla. Would most startup or startup-like (trying to reach stable profit) companies be OK with that?

If he doesn't fulfill his duties they can fire him. Otherwise it's not their business what someone does in his free time.

shit they probably can't legally do in California anyway.

If powerful people are butt-raping people left and right you betcha I’m giving kudos to any person I see who decides it’s a no-go

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