Tesla

Mechanical Engineering Intern Interview Experience - Palo Alto, California

May 31, 2024

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I have had two interviews so far. The two varied a lot, but one thing was true in both: a tech question at the end.

I was asked to "go through my resume" or "tell me about yourself." Then, usually, you talk, and they ask questions based on your experience and projects.

Questions

Q1: What variable would you change to decrease the bending of the beam: width or height?

Q2: You have two plates and a bolt connecting them together. There is a nut to tension the bolt. How would the clamping torque change if there was a lubricant on the nut versus without lubricant?

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 4 interview experiences for the Tesla Mechanical Engineering Intern role in Palo Alto, California.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

Tesla's interview process for their Mechanical Engineering Intern roles in Palo Alto, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive50%

Neutral25%

Negative25%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Tesla's Mechanical Engineering Intern interview process in Palo Alto, California.

Tesla Work Experiences

Good Work, Awesome Colleagues

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

November 17, 2025

Pros: Good work, awesome colleagues, good pay.

Cons: Lunch is kinda expensive for being provided by the company.

Good Work, Awesome Colleagues

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

November 17, 2025

Pros: Good work, awesome colleagues, good pay.

Cons: Lunch is kinda expensive for being provided by the company.

Great Internship Experience

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

Pros: High level of ownership on project and got to design parts for a vehicle. People seemed to have flexibility to change teams within the company.

Cons: The understaffed team meant everyone worked a lot. I knew of other interns on design teams who did not get to design parts.

Great Internship Experience

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

Pros: High level of ownership on project and got to design parts for a vehicle. People seemed to have flexibility to change teams within the company.

Cons: The understaffed team meant everyone worked a lot. I knew of other interns on design teams who did not get to design parts.

Great place to intern

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

Pros: Have the opportunity to work on a real project instead of busy work.

Cons: Can be stressful and overwhelming.

Great place to intern

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

Pros: Have the opportunity to work on a real project instead of busy work.

Cons: Can be stressful and overwhelming.

Good Work, Awesome Colleagues

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

November 17, 2025

Pros: Good work, awesome colleagues, good pay.

Cons: Lunch is kinda expensive for being provided by the company.

4.0
Good Work, Awesome Colleagues
Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
November 17, 2025
Pros: Good work, awesome colleagues, good pay.
Cons: Lunch is kinda expensive for being provided by the company.

Great Internship Experience

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

Pros: High level of ownership on project and got to design parts for a vehicle. People seemed to have flexibility to change teams within the company.

Cons: The understaffed team meant everyone worked a lot. I knew of other interns on design teams who did not get to design parts.

4.0
Great Internship Experience
Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
July 6, 2025
Pros: High level of ownership on project and got to design parts for a vehicle. People seemed to have flexibility to change teams within the company.
Cons: The understaffed team meant everyone worked a lot. I knew of other interns on design teams who did not get to design parts.

Great place to intern

Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee

Palo Alto, California, United States

Pros: Have the opportunity to work on a real project instead of busy work.

Cons: Can be stressful and overwhelming.

5.0
Great place to intern
Mechanical Engineering Intern • Former Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
March 9, 2025
Pros: Have the opportunity to work on a real project instead of busy work.
Cons: Can be stressful and overwhelming.

Tesla Interview Questions

Course Schedule

Determine if it is possible to finish all courses given prerequisites. Some courses must be taken before others; can you find a valid order?

Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters

Find the length of the longest substring within a given string that contains no repeating characters. The substring must be contiguous.

StringsSliding Windows

Minimum Changes To Make Alternating Binary String

Determine the fewest modifications needed to transform a binary string into an alternating pattern (e.g., "0101" or "1010"). You can change '0' to '1' or '1' to '0'.

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