Old emails sent by Elon Musk to Tesla employees telling them "remote work is no longer acceptable" have resurfaced online. The emails, shared by Venture Fund Hanover CEO Chris Hladczuk, included two letters the billionaire sent to executive Tesla staff in 2022. The emails, titled "Remote Work is No Longer Acceptable" and "To be Super Clear", urged the staff to start working from the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week or "depart" the company. "This is less than we ask of factory workers," one of the letters read.
Mr Hladczuk shared the two emails on X on Monday. "Elon Musk on why remote work is poison," he wrote along with the screenshots of the letters. Mr Musk then shared the post, simply writing: "Yes".
Take a look below:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2024
In the emails, Mr Musk stated that if there were any "exceptional contributors" who needed to be remote, he would review and approve those exceptions directly. In the follow-up email, he clarified that the 40-hour rule applied to all employees. "Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week," he wrote in the 2022 email.
"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 billionaire wrote.
In the emails, Mr Musk also cited his own example of living in Tesla factories to support his claim that visibility and presence were essential to innovation and success. "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," he said.
"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," the tech mogul continued.
"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," he concluded.
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The resurfaced letters have now sparked a discussion online. While some agreed with Mr Musk, others highlighted the benefits of remote working.
"Yes. Staying at home depriving yourself of social interaction can drive anyone insane. We need to bring the job back to the office so that our work ethic can get back on track to success," wrote one user. "If I was a CEO of a large company, I'd expect to see the people in my workplace I'm paying a salary to," said another.
"I'm going to respectfully disagree. I am MUCH more productive when I'm alone. Colleagues around me who are more interested in social interactions instead of the work are a distraction. But then again, I am early GenX with a highly developed work ethic, so maybe it's just me," commented a third user.
"This is where Elon and I part ways (philosophically) are we here for the enrichment of our lives the or the enrichment of the company? The answer is both, but the company takes the lions share. Work for home is valuable for the environment you say your fighting for (less cars, less traffic) it's better for moms and dads, it's better for families do you want to grow the human race in the overall betterments? Then have parents at home more! How are you so visionary on some things yet so backwards on this?" expressed one X user.
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