Elon Musk has told his workers he is rescinding the flexibility to work remotely, and thus expects to see them return to the office or leave the company.
The latest development is according to a leaked memo sent to staff this week.
Some Tesla office employees have been working at home during the pandemic; but Musk now wants them to get out of the house and work from the office.
Although the leaked memo has Musk’s name on it, he initially didn’t react if he did indeed sent the message.
However, Musk later responded to a tweeted inquiry about it, saying that Tesla’s remote workers “should pretend to work somewhere else.”
They should pretend to work somewhere else
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2022
The memo was sent to executives. but appears to be a set of instructions for all Tesla office staff to follow.
It revealed;
Remote work is no longer acceptable [sic].
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.
Musk further wrote that “this is less than we ask of factory workers,” adding that if there are any “exceptional contributors” for whom working in the office is “impossible,” then he will personally consider their case.
He goes on;
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.
A later email seen by Electrek, also signed by “Elon,” has the subject line: “To be super clear.”
It says that “everyone” has to work at least 40 hours a week in the office; and that if someone fails to show up at their usual place of work, “we will assume you have resigned.”
Musk adds:
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.
The Tesla boss noted that there are indeed companies that are still letting their staff work remotely.
He added;
But when was the last time they shipped a great new product? It’s been a while.
The memo also revealed Tesla will “create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth. This will not happen by phoning it in.”
Read also: Elon Musk Says Twitter Takeover Deal ‘Temporarily On Hold’
The pandemic ushered in a new era of hybrid working for desk-based employees; though clearly, not everyone is happy about it.
Musk’s office-only approach is likely to concern folks at Twitter, the company that the billionaire entrepreneur is planning to acquire.
Responding to the new way of doing things, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in March that the company is committed to “truly flexible work,” telling his employees;
Wherever you feel most productive and creative is where you will work and that includes working from home full-time forever.
If Musk’s takeover bid goes through, that could all change.
