Elon Musk bashed home office
“Get stuff done” is the name of the game.
Remote work is not exactly a new thing — it is around since the internet boom happened and global communication became much easier. During and after covid though, its popularity spiked significantly.
Some people even see it as a natural evolution, that this is the new of how things should be.
Elon Musk is not a fan of remote work — to put it lightly
In a company-wide letter, he wrote:
Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40
hours in the office per week. (…) If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.
That's pretty harsh! And people were quick to point it out (where else than on Twitter). Elon however, didn't hold back either. This is his message to people who see coming into work is an antiquated concept:
However, later in the letter, he makes a very good point:
There are of course companies that don’t require this, but when was the last time they shipped a great new product?
It’s been a while.
Tesla has and will create and actually manufacture the most exciting and meaningful products of any company on Earth.
This will not happen by phoning it in.
And it struck me — he is right.
Remote work is OK if you just have to keep things running
Objects that are in motion tend to stay in the motion. Running a company remotely might work just fine, you just do all the things you did before, just slower and from the comfort of your couch.
But if you want to actually BUILD SOMETHING, grow and move forward, remote is just not going to cut it. There is a reason so many companies start in a garage! It's not because people like garages. It's because being together, being able to talk and brainstorm ideas quickly is crucial to building new products. Sure, Tesla isn't exactly a startup, but Elon likes to keep that mentality around.
Communication is key
The main difference between remote work and being in the office is the speed of communication. You ask somebody for an information and it takes them 20 minutes to notice the email and reply. When in “real life” you could just walk over to their desk and ask them. Boom, you just saved 19 minutes and 30 seconds :)
It’s just faster ➡️ more efficient, that’s all.
Remote work certainly makes sense in some scenarios. And it is undoubtedly here to stay. But until there are people that want to create and invent new stuff, in-person office work is going to be with us.
