Summary

Elon Musk has mandated that Tesla employees must work from the main office for a minimum of 40 hours per week, effectively ending remote work for the company, or risk being considered as having resigned.

Abstract

In a leaked email dated May 31, 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk declared an end to remote working for Tesla employees. Musk stated that employees must be physically present in a main Tesla office for at least 40 hours a week, a policy that aligns with the expectations for factory workers. He emphasized that exceptions would be rare and personally reviewed by him for particularly exceptional contributors. Musk's stance is driven by the belief that to create the most exciting and meaningful products, in-person collaboration and hard work are essential, and these cannot be achieved through remote work. He also highlighted that senior employees should be more visible in the office to lead by example, drawing on his own experience of living in the factory to prevent Tesla from going bankrupt.

Opinions

Musk believes that remote work is no longer acceptable for Tesla workers, signaling a return to in-office work as the standard.
The CEO's hard stance on remote work is influenced by the improved COVID-19 situation in the U.S. and his philosophy that significant achievements require physical presence and dedication.
Musk values visible leadership and expects senior staff to be present in the office, setting a precedent for others to follow.
He implies that companies allowing remote work may not be as innovative or successful in shipping new products, suggesting a correlation between physical presence and productivity.
Musk's approach reflects his personal work ethic and the importance he places on leading by example, having lived in the factory to demonstrate his commitment to Tesla's success.

Elon Musk: If You Don’t Show Up We will Assume You Have Resigned

Elon declares an end to remote working for Tesla employees.

Elon Musk. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Edited by the author

The first thing that showed up on Twitter when I opened it today was a leaked email from Elon Musk.

In the email, the Tesla boss made it super clear that his employees must return to the office full time. And he will no longer accept remote work. If anyone fails to show up, he/she will be replaced.

So, the fancy word ‘remote work’ is now history for Tesla workers.

The super clear email from Elon Musk

In an email on May 31, 2022, Elon clearly states that if anyone wants to do remote work, he/she must work at least 40 hours per week in the main Tesla office. And those who will fail to do so will be shown the door.

I know what you’re thinking. What if there are some actual issues where an employee fails to comply with this new policy?

Elon mentions that if there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, he himself will review and approve those exceptions directly.

Here is what the leaked email reads:

From: Elon Musk Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2022, 1:19PM To: ExecStaff Subject: Remote work is no longer acceptable

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 in another state.

Thanks, Elon

With this new policy, Elon made it clear that remote work will not be acceptable anymore for Tesla workers. Now, it’s time for real hand-to-hand combat.

The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence.

In another follow-up email, Elon further confirmed the new policy saying, “Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week…If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.”

But why this hard stance?

Because the covid situation in the U.S.A is now out of the pandemic phase. And if Elon wants to make the most exciting and meaningful products, there is no other way than hard work. And that’s not possible by remote working.

Work is Elon’s life. This is why he lives in the factory and does more work than anyone else. And he expects this kind of dedication from his soldiers.

He says, “The more senior you are, the more visible must be your presence. This 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.”

We know everything he said is damn right.

Read the full email in the following —

From: Elon Musk 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. This 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. Theis will not happen by phoning it in.

Thanks, Elon

To conclude

If you work at Tesla yet believe that reporting to a physical workplace is an old concept, here is what Elon tells you to do —

“They should pretend to work somewhere else.”

Thank you for reading.

Sources: The Independent, BBC, Twitter, CBS News.

New to Medium?? Unlock thousands of AWESOME stories only for $5/mo. and OUTSHINE others — Click Me.

If you want to read more of my writings, do check out the following articles.