Whether or not you believe that working from home prevents your colleagues from being productive, Elon Musk certainly thinks his employees at SpaceX and Tesla should return to the office, full-time. The New York Times reports that Musk emailed SpaceX employees this week, demanding they spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week, while those who didn’t would be fired. Musk emphasized that senior employees should make their presence more visible, which is why he spent lots of time in the factory with workers on the line. “If I had not done that, SpaceX would long ago have gone bankrupt,” he noted.
A similar memo was sent to Tesla’s executive staff, in which the CEO mentioned the same in-person 40hr/week minimum requirement for employees who wished to work remotely. “This is less than we ask of factory workers,” Musk noted, adding that he will directly review and approve particularly exceptional contributors unable to meet this requirement. He also made it clear that the office must be where a worker’s actual colleagues are located, and not some ‘remote pseudo’ office. “If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned,” Musk said, further explaining that while there were companies that didn’t have such requirements, it also had been some time since they had shipped a great new product. While hailing Tesla for its achievements, Musk concluded that the company’s goal of making the most exciting and meaningful products on Earth won’t happen by “phoning it in.” The CEO also tweeted a response when asked for comments on his leaked email.
