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Tesla will continue paying salaries of Ukrainian employees who return home to fight
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Tesla will continue paying salaries of Ukrainian employees who return home to fight

As a way to support Ukraine in its fight against invading Russian forces, Tesla has announced that it will continue paying the salaries of Ukrainian employees asked to return to their homeland to fight for at least three months.

The announcement was disclosed in an internal email to employees in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, CNBC reported. The outlet noted, however, that it wasn’t immediately clear whether the policy had been or would be extended to employees in North America and elsewhere around the globe.

The company reportedly said that after the three-month time period, it would reassess the situation depending on how the conflict is going.

"For any Tesla employees who is a Ukrainian national and has been asked to return to Ukraine for active duty as a reservist, we will maintain their employment and salary for 3 months, with a view to assessing after this period as needed," read the email, sent by Axel Tangen, Tesla's director of Northern Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called up military reservists late last month as Russian troops continued to mass around the country's borders. Only days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion, sending Europe into its bloodiest land war since World War II.

Since the start of the invasion, Zelenskyy has leaned on the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people, promising to supply weaponry to any citizen who would remain and fight.

The United States and several other Western nations have responded to Russia's unprovoked attack by heavily sanctioning the invading country while supplying Ukraine with a deluge of armaments and high-tech weaponry.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, too, has been aiding the war efforts. Tangen's email announcing the three-month pay for military policy shed light on Musk's enterprise to quickly bring fortified internet service to Ukraine.

"Tesla teamed up with SpaceX to provide coverage expansion for its Starlink services to help provide an alternative internet infrastructure," Tangen wrote, noting that volunteers tested, configured, and shipped several hundred Starlink units to Ukraine this month.

He added that "in true Tesla fashion, the solution has been put together in less than 3 days."

Additionally, Tesla’s Energy team assembled and provided lithium-ion battery storage systems known as Tesla Powerwalls to run the Starlink equipment.

Ukraine vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who also oversees digital transformation for the country, personally thanked Musk on Twitter, writing, "Received the second shipment of Starlink stations! [Elon Musk] keeps his word! Thank you for supporting Ukraine and peace in the entire world!"

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