Elon Musk Expresses Extensive Opinions on Work-from-Home, Advocating for In-Person Productivity
In a recent interview with CNBC, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, opened up about his thoughts on the concept of working from home. His statements left no room for ambiguity regarding his stance on remote work.
Musk firmly asserted, “I’m a big believer that people are more productive when they’re in person.” To emphasize his point, he drew a comparison to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, stating, “The whole notion of work from home is a bit like the fake Marie Antoinette quote, ‘let them eat cake.’ It’s like, really? You’re gonna work from home, and you’re gonna make everyone else, who made your car, come work in the factory (…) the people that come fix your house, they can’t work from home, but you can? Does that seem morally right? That’s messed up.”
Expressing his frustration, Musk added, “People should get off their goddamn moral high horse with the work-from-home bullshit.” Throughout the conversation, Musk continued to juxtapose various professions and scenarios, suggesting that the “laptop class is living in la-la land.” He went beyond productivity concerns, stating, “It’s not just a productivity thing, I think it’s morally wrong.”
Although Musk acknowledged that he does not expect all of his employees to adhere to the same working hours as he does, he casually mentioned his own work ethic, revealing, “I work seven days a week.” He further claimed that there are only “two or three” days in a year during which he does not dedicate a significant amount of time to meaningful work.
Musk’s candid remarks shed light on his perspective regarding the effectiveness and morality of remote work arrangements, emphasizing his belief in the importance of in-person collaboration and productivity.
