Why Does Elon Musk Not Look at Resumes?

Elon Musk has shared in an X post that he is not looking for cover letters or resumes as he hires for his Dojo 3 supercomputer project. 

Instead, he wants applicants to send in “3 bullet points on the toughest technical problem,” they’ve solved. 

The hiring move comes as Tesla restarts work on Dojo 3, which aims to deploy supercomputing infrastructure in space to advance autonomous driving capabilities. 

Tesla previously halted work on Dojo 3 in 2025 as the company focused its resources on developing its A15 processor.

Elon Musk’s approach to hiring

Elon has previously said he distrusts resumes as an effective way to hire, sharing on the Dwarkesh podcast that he likes to take personality into account.

He said: “Generally, what I tell people – I tell myself, I guess, aspirationally – is, don't look at the resume. Just believe your interaction. 

“The resume may seem very impressive, and it's like, ‘Wow, the resume looks good.’ But if the conversation after 20 minutes is not wow, you should believe the conversation, not the paper”. 

Tesla itself tends to prioritise skills over credentials when it comes to hiring talent, with interview candidates often being asked to complete technical tasks and display the ability to solve real-world problems within the interview process. 

This process can last five rounds for more technical roles and assesses candidates on their behavioural and practical skills. 

Elon continues: “I think it's a good idea to hire for talent and drive and trustworthiness, and I think goodness of heart is important. 

“I underweighted that at one point. So, are they a good person? Trustworthy? Smart and talented and hard working? If so, you can add domain knowledge.”

The importance of hiring for skills

Assessing candidates for their skills and personality is becoming more important, with research from Hiscox finding that 53% of prospective candidates are using AI-powered tools to help them write their resumes. 

The study raised concerns about the use of AI in the hiring process, finding that 37% of applicants say they would not correct inaccuracies added by an AI tool – such as the overstatement of skills or experience. 

Hiring for skills is also playing an increasingly important role as AI continues to develop.

Companies are now adding AI assessments to their hiring process – such as McKinsey, who now asks some candidates to collaborate with its internal AI tool in final round interviews, according to CaseBasix. 

This allows the company to assess whether candidates have the critical thinking skills necessary to maintain ownership of a product developed by AI, with many companies looking for more than technical skills when hiring for an AI-enabled workplace. 

Daniela Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic, shared in an interview with ABC News that she believes soft skills will play a more significant role in future business operations, saying: “I actually think studying the humanities is going to be more important than ever. A lot of these models are actually very good at STEM. 

“But I think this idea that there are things that make us uniquely human – understanding ourselves, understanding history, understanding what makes us tick –  I think that will always be really, really important. 

“And I think the ability to have critical thinking skills and learn how to interact with other people will be more important in the future, rather than less.”