Working from home ‘morally reprehensible’, says Elon Musk! Do you know what that is?
Tesla boss Elon Musk is again doing everything possible to destroy his company’s image. Now, for example, he has alienated his own employees by calling working from home “morally reprehensible.” Would he see the hypocrisy in it?
In a televised interview with CNBC, Musk said the “laptop class” — who he believes live in “la-la-land” — should stop their “work-from-home bullshit.” He has no concerns about productivity, simply calling working from home “morally reprehensible”.
Elon Musk’s private jet not morally reprehensible?
Musk says it’s hypocritical to want to work from home. Why? Because production workers — the men and women who assemble Teslas — don’t have that option.
Yes, we like a few more. We don’t have the ability to travel the world on a private jet. Elon Musk does. Morally reprehensible and hypocritical. We don’t make billions of dollars a year. Elon Musk does. Shall we continue?
Suddenly a fan of working from home on Twitter
Yes, let’s do this. Earlier this year, Musk suddenly became a fan of working from home when it presented him with the opportunity to shut down Twitter’s Seattle and Singapore offices. Employees have been instructed to work from home.
It gets worse when you consider that Tesla and Elon Musk are doing everything they can to discourage employees from joining a union. Because if employees do that, Musk can no longer exploit them.
Modern slavery is apparently not morally reprehensible
Are we going too far now? Certainly not. After all, Musk himself admitted that he exploits people. In May last year, he criticized his own employees for being lazy and work-shy.
Giga Shanghai, the Tesla factory in China, is also nicknamed the Giga Sweatshop because of the poor working conditions and the bizarre amount of overtime the employees have to work.
Morally reprehensible and hypocritical? Not according to Musk, who is comfortable with modern slavery, as human rights organizations call the situation at Tesla in China.
“There are so many hard-working Chinese,” Musk said. “Not only do they work until midnight, they work until 3 a.m. and don’t even leave the factory after that. Compare that to Americans who are always trying to escape work.”
Tesla employees in China have to meet strict production targets, so they work 12 hours a day, six days a week. Are they getting paid for all that overtime? No of course not. And Chinese law doesn’t even allow that much overtime.
However, this is not enforced in the country. Chinese workers are often required to sign a declaration when hired by a company waiving their right to paid overtime and paid vacation.
Unions in Chinese companies are paid by the employer and therefore have no bargaining power. American Factory, a 2019 documentary, reveals that glassmaker Fuyao Group’s union is led by the CEO’s brother-in-law.