Musk described working from home as illogical in an interview with 2023 CNBC“It’s really like you’re working from home and getting everyone else who built your car to come to the factory,” Musk said. “The people who make your food that gets delivered can’t work from home? The people who fix your house can’t work from home?”

Musk continued: “I think the whole idea of ​​working from home is a bit like the misquote of Marie Antoinette: ‘Let them eat cake.’ It’s not just about productivity. I think it’s morally wrong. People should get off their goddamn moral high horse and talk that work-from-home nonsense.”

Although Nicole Penn, president of advertising and marketing firm ECG Group, said Business Insider Although Tesla’s corporate culture may make working from home less practical, Musk’s stance could potentially cost him talented employees.

“Every employee has environments that either increase or decrease their productivity. If Tesla’s culture is based on collaboration and ideas being born on the factory floor, it is not possible for a remote team member to participate effectively.” Penn said Business Insider“One has to ask whether Elon can retain top talent who need and value more flexibility.”

Tesla’s opening to telecommuting – previously, in 2023, Musk’s company had only three positions with home-based jobs that Musk had to personally approve – represents a sharp reversal from Musk’s previous downgrading of home-based jobs.

Nick Gallimore, Director of Innovation at Advanced People Mechanics, said Business Insider If Musk does not change his policies, he will have to “perform something like a miracle if he wants to expect people to stay loyal to him … let alone be more productive.”

Gallimore continued, “With Musk’s comments – that remote work simply cannot be as effective or productive as working in-person – he is among a small minority of business owners who are betting the future of their companies on the organizational design principles of the past. The odds are against him: A lot of different research suggests that only 10% of people actually want to work in the office full-time.”

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