Elon Musk shares his views on remote work. Here is what he said

Yesterday, Elon Musk asked all Tesla employees to come back to the office or lose their jobs. In a leaked email shared on social media, Musk told workers at SpaceX and Tesla to spend a minimum of 40 hours a week in the office or be terminated.

Just like other companies, Tesla and SpaceX have allowed their employees to work remotely due to the covid-19 pandemic. As the pandemic subsides, these companies are now reevaluating their remote working policies.

Musk added that in only extreme cases where this was deemed impossible would he personally decide whether to reconsider his decree. Musk asked all employees to come back to the office or lose their jobs:

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. This is less than we ask of factory workers.

Today, we just learned there is a second email where Musk reminded employees that he set the example by sleeping in the factory. Musk reminded Tesla employees that the company would have gone bankrupt if he had not stayed in the factory and worked alongside others.

“The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence,” Mr. Musk said. “That is why I spent so much time in the factory — so that those on the line could see me working alongside them. If I had not done that, SpaceX would long ago have gone bankrupt.”

Here are the emails in full:

First email:

Subject: Remote work is no longer acceptble

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. This is less than we ask of factory workers.

If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly.

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.

Thanks,
Elon

Second email:

Subject: To be super clear

Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. Moreover, 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.

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.

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.

Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in.

Thanks,
Elon