CNN Business senior writer Chris Isidore lamented Elon Musk’s orders for all Tesla employees to return to work in-person or else leave the company in a series of alleged Tuesday emails to company executives.
The Tesla CEO reportedly ordered all of his employees to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week or depart the company if they wish to do remote work, Electrek first reported Wednesday. He said senior managers being present in the office is essential to the company’s success, citing his presence in the Fremont, California, factory when the company struggled to increase production in 2017 and 2018, according to CNN.
“The office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo office. If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned,” Musk said, according to Electrek. “The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence. That is why I lived in the factory so much—so that those on the line could see me working alongside them. If I had not done that, Tesla would long ago have gone bankrupt.”
NEWS: @elonmusk sends second email to “be super clear” that remote work is not acceptable at Tesla and working in-person crucial to making “the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth.”
(Including original email as well) pic.twitter.com/Hsr1gF4Y18
— Dave Lee (@heydave7) June 1, 2022
“Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla,” he reiterated in a separate email, according to the outlet. “This is less than we ask of factory workers…Moreover, the ‘office’ must be a main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsible for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office be in another state.”
Isidore cited a Pew Research study finding that 60% of workers prefer to work remotely all or most of the time when the pandemic is over. The study surveyed 10,237 participants between Jan. 24-30, 2022 with a 1.5% margin of error. He then criticized Musk for limiting employees’ options by contrasting his options with other companies, including Twitter.
“Since reopening offices following Covid-19 shutdowns, many companies beyond Twitter have announced increased flexibility for employees who want to work remotely, partly as a way to retain or attract talent in a particularly tight labor market. But the world’s richest person doesn’t seem concerned about that dynamic,” Isidore wrote.
Musk said he will personally review and approve any exceptions to the rule if necessary, according to the email. He reportedly told executives that the company will not create exceptional products remotely. (RELATED: Elon Musk Says ‘Happiness Is A Choice’)
“Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth,” he added, Electrek reported. “This will not happen by phoning it in.”
Musk appeared to confirm these new rules in a tweet early Wednesday responding to a Twitter user asking for his response to working in the office being an “antiquated concept.”
“They should pretend to work somewhere else,” Musk replied.
They should pretend to work somewhere else
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2022
Twitter’s policy, which Musk is in the process of taking over, allows employees to work remotely “forever” if they choose, the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal told employees.