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Elon Musk says remote workers at Tesla 'should pretend to work somewhere else'

Musk seems to have confirmed a leaked email suggesting that not only is Tesla cracking down on remote work, but remote workers aren't actually working.

TJ Denzer

June 1, 2022 7:40 AM

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Elon Musk has been in a lot of controversial news lately. Whether it’s his handling of the deal to buy Twitter or his scuffs with video game satire sites, he isn’t winning supporters lately, and that seems to continue to be the case with remote work. An alleged Tesla internal email suggested the company is cracking down on remote work and, when put before Elon Musk on social media, the Tesla CEO didn’t deny its validity, instead suggesting Tesla remote workers should “pretend to work somewhere else.”

The supposed email sent out from Elon Musk to Tesla employees was originally shared by Twitter user Sam Nissim on May 31, 2022. The email itself suggests that Tesla is no longer allowing remote work except for in extreme cases which will be personally reviewed by Musk. When confronted directly with the email, Musk’s response to the matter on remote workers was that “they should pretend to work somewhere else.”

Here is the full copy of the email of which the subject line is “Remote work is no longer acceptable”:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies opened their doors to the possibility of remote work in order to keep employees safe. Many companies have found that production actually increased alongside safety and adopted permanent policies on the matter, including DONTNOD Entertainment and Tripwire Interactive.

It would seem Tesla is not one of those companies if Elon Musk has anything to say about it. With pandemic restrictions lifting and many groups cracking down on remote work, it looks like Tesla falls among those who won’t be allowing it going forward except for in extreme cases.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.