If there is a controversial technological personality above the rest, it is undoubtedly Elon Musk. What if the Cybertruck, his last dalliances with Milei, that if Tesla’s figures differ greatly from reality… Not only because of his statements as head of Tesla, but also because of the mess that X, the old social network known as Twitter, has turned into. And in one of his top interviews he made clear the contrast between his way of working and that defended by Steve Jobs.
Musk has criticized teleworking in a recent interview with CNBC, calling it “morally wrong” and ruling out that it is a question of being more or less productive from home. He has made no bones about defining the social class of “the laptops who live in La-La-Land.” And that’s not the hardest thing.
The “moral nonsense” of teleworking according to Elon Musk
“People should get off that moral pedestal that is the nonsense of working from home” […] Are you really going to telework and make the rest of the people who made your car go to the factory? Can the people who make your food telework? People who can fix your house can’t telework., but you do? Is that morally right?
This is how transparent Musk has been, advocating a total return to the office for all his workers. He has compared the event to what happened to Marie Antoinette in France, when she wanted to solve the people’s famine with her now historic “well, let them eat cakes.” Pretty direct.
Steve Jobs considered teleworking a mandatory requirement
We could say that this contrasts with modern Apple, but it even contrasts with the idea that Jobs had about teleworking. Apple’s posthumous CEO I was thinking about a hybrid model back in 1990, as he commented in an interview at that time in which he defended the right of workers to disconnect from work. He was already talking about taking the computer home or even to a cabin in the woods (minute 30):
This clash of ideas is now grating in the offices of Apple’s executives. While Jobs was already beginning to imagine teleworking in the early 80s, Tim Cook now advocates a balance. A hybrid model that seeks combine the best of going to the office and the best of going home. Which has caused resignations in the past, by the way. Because the appropriate point of work conciliation is not always reached, it is worth remembering.
As a teleworker who I have been since 2006, I understand that there is a debate on the matter and I recognize the advantages of each model, but I do not see it appropriate for Musk to polarize his opinion so much that he seeks to ridicule those who work from home. As usual, There are nuances and Elon Musk does not consider them. And the rapid evolution of technology together with the politics of each company should lead us to the end of such radicalized opinions.
An older version of this article was originally published on 05/19/2023.
Images | Carles Rabada, Israel Andrade