Tesla CEO Elon Musk, long a critic of working from home, continued his campaign against the widespread and popular practice in a brief rant Wednesday (Oct 18) during his third-quarter Tesla earnings report.
During comments on the impact of interest rates and the rising cost of cars, Musk suddenly digressed into derisive remarks about the “why-doesn’t-everyone-work-from-home crowd,” whom he accused of having “some real Marie Antoinette vibes.”
While Musk did not accuse fans of working from home of snootily nibbling cake while the proletariat labours away, he came close.
“What about all the people that have to come to the factory and (assemble) the cars?” he said. “What about all the people that have to go to the restaurant and make your food and deliver your food?
“How detached from reality does the work-from-home crowd have to be,” he continued, “while they take advantage of all those who cannot work from home?”
Finally, before abruptly returning to his discussion about the importance of car costs, Musk asked a last question:
“Why did I sleep in the factory so many times? Because it mattered.”
Back in the spring, Musk called working from home “morally wrong” in an interview with CNBC. He also called those who do their jobs from their kitchen tables or home offices “the laptop class… living in la-la land.” – San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service
