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Elon Musk bans remote work at Tesla

Tesla boss Elon Musk told all employees that they risk being fired if they do not return to the office and stop remote work.

The world’s richest man, who also heads SpaceX and is trying to take over Twitter, told Tesla employees that the telecommuting conditions introduced in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic would no longer be acceptable.

In an email to staff seen by Electrek and Bloomberg, Mr Musk said office workers would have to work a minimum of 40 hours a week on site.

“Anyone who wants to work remotely must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean * minimum *) 40 hours a week or leave Tesla,” he wrote. “That’s less than we want from factory workers.”

Tesla’s position contradicts other leading technology companies such as Apple and Google, which have adopted a hybrid approach that offers workers more flexibility at work.

In a subsequent email, Mr. Musk wrote: “The older you are, the more visible your presence should be. That’s why I lived in the factory so long – so that those on the line could see me working with them. If I hadn’t done that, Tesla would have gone bankrupt a long time ago.

“Of course, there are companies that don’t require this, but when was the last time they sent a great new product? From a long time. Tesla has and will create and actually produce the most exciting and significant products of any company on Earth. That won’t happen if you call him. “

Certain exceptions will be made to the new rules of procedure, Mr Musk wrote, albeit only for “exclusive participants” who have his direct approval.

Mr Musk responded to a screenshot of the first email posted on Twitter on Wednesday, tweeting: “They have to pretend to work elsewhere.”