Software Development Engineer H-1B salary at Tesla — 437 certified filings (FY2017–FY2026)
- 19
- Filings · FY2025
- $152k
- Median base · FY2025
- $144k–$166k
- Middle 50% · FY2025
- +9%
- vs market median · all years
Tesla filed 19 certified H-1B LCAs for Software Development Engineer in FY2025, with a median base salary of $152k and the middle 50% of offers between $144k and $166k. Across all years its $140k median is 9% above the $129k market median for Software Development Engineer. It has filed 437 Software Development Engineer LCAs since FY2017, most often in Fremont, CA.
How much does Tesla pay a Software Development Engineer?
Certified base salary for Software Development Engineer at Tesla by fiscal year: each box is the p25–p75 range, the heavy line the median, the whiskers reach p10–p90. $152k median in FY2025. Base pay only — hover a year for its figures.
Does Tesla pay Software Development Engineers above the market?
Tesla's all-years median against every employer's certified Software Development Engineer LCAs — 9% above the market. Same cleaned DOL title, same base-salary definition, so the two rows compare like for like.
| Base salary for this title | Filings | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 437 | $140k |
| All employers · Software Development Engineer | 13,753 | $129k |
How has Tesla's Software Development Engineer hiring changed by year?
1 certified Software Development Engineer filings in FY2017 → 107 in FY2026. The change column is each year against the one before.
| Fiscal year | Filings | vs prior FY | Median base |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 107 | +463% | $178k |
| FY2025 | 19 | −63% | $152k |
| FY2024 | 51 | −6% | $145k |
| FY2023 | 54 | −49% | $143k |
| FY2022 | 105 | +50% | $134k |
| FY2021 | 70 | +180% | $130k |
| FY2020 | 25 | +400% | $120k |
| FY2019 | 5 | +400% | $118k |
| FY2017 | 1 | — | $108k |
Which wage levels does Tesla file for Software Development Engineer?
DOL prevailing-wage levels I–IV approximate experience tiers (I = entry, IV = fully competent). 6% of Tesla's Software Development Engineer filings sit at Level III–IV. Higher levels earn more entries in the wage-weighted H-1B lottery.
Share of 325 Software Development Engineer filings with a wage level · all years
- Level I11.7%38
- Level II82.8%269
- Level III4.6%15
- Level IV0.9%3
Where does Tesla hire H-1B Software Development Engineers?
Worksite states and cities on the certified filings for this title, all years, with the median base salary at each.
| State | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| California | 375 | $143k |
| Texas | 43 | $140k |
| Washington | 15 | $140k |
| Nevada | 2 | $122k |
| New York | 2 | $117k |
| City | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Fremont, CA | 267 | $140k |
| Palo Alto, CA | 93 | $150k |
| Austin, TX | 42 | $140k |
| Bellevue, WA | 14 | $140k |
| San Jose, CA | 5 | $135k |
| Milpitas, CA | 4 | $135k |
| San Diego, CA | 2 | $135k |
| Sparks, NV | 2 | $122k |
Also filed as
Tesla's other sponsored titles, and the employers that file the most Software Development Engineer LCAs. All years.
Other titles at Tesla
| Job title | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical Design Engineer | 354 | $122k |
| Process Engineer | 300 | $103k |
| Manufacturing Engineer | 284 | $114k |
| Senior Software Development Engineer | 274 | $157k |
| Manufacturing Equipment Engineer | 245 | $108k |
| Staff Software Development Engineer | 229 | $197k |
| Software Engineer | 154 | $130k |
| Senior Mechanical Design Engineer | 139 | $130k |
| Sr Software Development Engineer | 139 | $183k |
| Sourcing Engineer | 137 | $123k |
Top Software Development Engineer sponsors
| Employer | Filings | Median base |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 2,447 | $178k |
| Adobe | 2,111 | $163k |
| Expedia | 1,405 | $119k |
| Zillow | 313 | $123k |
| Akvelon | 265 | $90k |
| Environmental Systems Research Institute | 228 | $110k |
| Workday | 225 | $129k |
| Fortinet | 218 | $133k |
| Nokia of America | 190 | $140k |
Common questions about Software Development Engineer H-1B pay at Tesla
- How much does Tesla pay a Software Development Engineer on an H-1B?
- Tesla's median certified H-1B base salary for Software Development Engineer is $152k in FY2025, from 19 filings; the middle 50% of offers fall between $144k and $166k. Across all years the median is $140k.
- How many Software Development Engineer H-1B LCAs has Tesla filed?
- Tesla has 437 certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications for Software Development Engineer on record (FY2017–FY2026), 107 of them in FY2026. That is 3% of its 13,893 certified filings across all titles.
- Does Tesla pay Software Development Engineers above the market?
- Tesla's all-years median of $140k is 9% above the $129k median for Software Development Engineer across all H-1B employers (13,753 certified filings).
- Where does Tesla hire H-1B Software Development Engineers?
- Tesla's Software Development Engineer LCAs name worksites mostly in California, Texas, Washington; the top cities are Fremont, CA, Palo Alto, CA, Austin, TX.
- Does a certified LCA mean an H-1B visa was approved?
- No. A Labor Condition Application (LCA) is the Department of Labor attestation an employer must have certified before filing an H-1B petition with USCIS. It records the job, worksite and offered wage, but not whether the petition was filed, selected in the lottery, or approved. Filing counts measure intent to sponsor, not headcount.
- What salary do these figures show?
- The base annual wage offered on the certified LCA, converted to a yearly amount. Bonus, equity, overtime and benefits are not included, so total compensation is typically higher. Figures are medians and percentiles over certified filings; wages above $5,000,000 a year are excluded as data-entry errors.
- What do prevailing-wage levels I–IV mean?
- The Department of Labor assigns each LCA an OES wage level from I (entry) to IV (fully competent) for the occupation and area. Under the FY2027 wage-weighted H-1B lottery rule, a higher level earns more selection entries, so an employer's level mix is a proxy for how senior its sponsored roles are.
Keep exploring
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Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification — certified LCA disclosure data through June 2026 (FY2017–FY2026). An LCA is not an approved visa; pay figures are base salary and exclude bonus and equity. Methodology →