How’s Your Annual Bonus? The Chinese Startup Luring Talent with a Tesla

The Chinese lunar New Year is just around the corner. Around this time, expectations among Chinese office workers are high in anticipation of the traditional year-end bonus. For most workers, it’s a pleasant extra, not a windfall. But what if the incentive for this year takes the form of a car—a Tesla?

It may seem like a daydream, but this is exactly what is happening to the employees of WiFi Master Key (our translation), a startup backed by Chinese game developer and publisher Shanda. The firm is handing out a surprisingly generous year-end bonus this year by rewarding every member of staff with more than four months at the company with a Tesla.

A company representative disclosed that dozens out of the fifty current employees will receive this reward, but declined to name the specific number. It will cost the startup more than RMB30 million (US$4.8 million) in total, at current prices (RMB734,000 for the Model S) in the Chinese market. The first batch of eight employees received the cars last week. The electric car manufacturer also confirmed the news.

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