Elon Musk, Tesla chief executive, has encouraged his workforce to return to work onsite, reverting a policy of working remotely.
Tesla recently announced a policy that requires employees to be in the office on an ongoing basis. The policy was shared via leaked emails, one of which appeared to be addressed to executives. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the messages, one of which appeared to be addressed to executives. People who are unwilling to abide by the new rules can “pretend to work somewhere else” Mr Musk said on Twitter, when asked about the policy. “Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” he wrote in one of the emails.
In a leaked email, Elon Musk said that employees working at Tesla’s offices in California should report to work full-time or lose their jobs. He also added that he would personally review any requests for exemptions from the policy. Mr Musk said working in the office full-time was what the company asks of its factory employees and in-person collaboration was critical to the firm’s success. “There are of course companies that don’t require this, but when was the last time they shipped a great new product? It’s been a while,” he said in an email, one of two that was leaked and shared on social media.
Tesla has and will continue to create some of the most exciting products in any industry. This will not happen by simply phoning it in. Many companies are still grappling with whether or not to allow remote work practices that were implemented during the coronavirus pandemic to continue. Banks have signaled that they expect staff to return to the office, while tech companies typically have said they will allow remote work indefinitely. Many places have opted for a mix of options. Office occupancy in the United States is at about 43%, according to data from Kastle, which runs security card access systems at thousands of buildings across the country.
‘I lived in the factory’
Musk is known for his hard-charging attitude toward work. He doesn’t take many vacations, and during a crunch period for Tesla, he slept on the factory floor. “The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence,” he wrote in one of the emails about the remote work policy.
Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk has previously voiced his disapproval of remote work, and in an interview with CBS News this week he explained why. “I think people are better if they are together,” Musk said. “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.”
