Elon Musk watches his mobile phone in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, January 19, 2020. REUTERS / Joe Skipper / File Photo
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
I’m registering
SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) – Elon Musk got into an argument on Twitter with Australia’s third-richest man on Friday over the value of ending the pandemic era of telecommuting.
In an internal email this week, the CEO of Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O) said that “everyone at Tesla is required to spend at least 40 hours a week in the office” and “if you don’t show up, we’ll assume you’ve submitted resignation. “This has drawn criticism from workers’ advocates for potential exposure to coronavirus. Read more
Scott Farkuhar, co-founder of Australian project management software maker Atlassian Plc (TEAM.O), ridiculed the directive in a series of tweets as “something from the 1950s”. The US-registered company’s “work everywhere” policy is “the key to our continued growth,” he said.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
I’m registering
“We are focusing our efforts on increasing Atlassian to 25,000 employees by fiscal year 26,” Farkuhar concluded. “Are Tesla employees interested?”
Musk responded: “The hot set of tweets illustrates why recessions serve a vital economic cleansing function.”
The exchange is not uncommon for Musk, who often uses Twitter to make apologetic statements on sensitive topics.
In Silicon Valley, many technology companies moved into mixed home and office work during the pandemic, while others set dates to return to the office only to repel them as new outbreaks arose.
Musk, the richest man in the world and also the CEO of SpaceX, also has experience of confronting other billionaires. In 2021, he posted an image of a medal for second place in response to a tweet from Jeff Bezos celebrating the success of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).
In 2017, Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brooks collaborated with Musk by publicly accepting and facilitating his offer to supply a powerful Tesla battery to the state of South Australia after it suffered a power outage in 2017.
Cannon-Brookes, which has since led a campaign to buy Australian energy company AGL Energy Ltd (AGL.AX) and accelerate its transition to renewable energy, has republished Farquhar’s remarks criticizing Musk’s order to return to office.
(This story was adjusted to that listed in the United States from that listed in London in paragraph 3.)
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
I’m registering
Report by Byron Kay; Edited by Bradley Peret
Our standards: Thomson Reuters’ principles of trust.
Add Comment