Elon Musk calls working from home ‘morally wrong’
Elon Musk faced backlash for arguing that people who worked from home were “morally wrong” because it was unfair to those who could not work remotely. In an interview with CNBC’s David Faber on Tuesday, Mr Musk described the people working remotely as “laptop classes”, saying that the issue extended beyond productivity concerns. He likened the concept of working from home to a quote often attributed to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France before the French Revolution. “I think that the whole notion of work from home is a bit like the fake Marie Antoinette quote, ‘Let them eat cake’,” Mr Musk said. “It’s not just a productivity thing. I think it’s morally wrong.” Mr Musk criticised the hypocrisy of expecting service industry workers to go to work while others had the privilege of working from home. “Get off the goddamn moral high horse with the work-from-home bulls**t,” he said. “People building the cars, servicing the cars, building houses, fixing houses, making the food, making all the things that people consume. It’s messed up to assume that, yes, they have to go to work, but you don’t” he said. “It’s not just a productivity thing, I think it’s morally wrong.” The tech mogul has been a fierce advocate of return-to-office policies. He imposed a strict policy in Tesla in June 2022, warning employees that they would lose their jobs if they did not comply. The policy required employees to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office a week and anything less would be “phoning it in”. “The laptop class is living in la-la land,” he said. Mr Musk’s comments on work-from-home culture generated a divided response on the internet, with many lashing out at him. “Being one of the world’s richest man, @elonmusk sounded tone deaf when he himself expects ppl to eat cake rather than share his wealth. @davidfaber just sounds like a boomer with his ‘productivity’ whining. Ppl are as productive and engaged working from home - if not more,” a Twitter user said. Another user, Lora Kolodny, pointed to another CNBC report which said Tesla will carve out deals for “exceptional” employees amid the company’s hardline policy to return to work. The report, which cited sources, said Tesla was struggling to bring all its employees back to the office due to a lack of resources. “Uhhh - REALLY!? Because as far as I know, Tesla and Twitter under Musk’s management will grant ‘exceptional’ employees right to work from home. Memba this?” Ms Kolodny said. In the hour-long interview, Mr Musk also said he did not care for the consequences of his unfiltered and unabashed views on Twitter even if it meant incurring financial losses. “I’ll say what I want to say, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it,” he said. He added that Twitter will attempt to rehire some of its staff after dramatically firing employees following his controversial takeover of the microblogging platform. He acknowledged that the job cuts were too deep. “Desperate times call for desperate measures… Unfortunately, if you do it fast, there are some babies who will be thrown out,” Mr Musk said, adding there is a possibility of rehiring people who were let go. Read More Lawsuit filed against Twitter, Saudi Arabia; claims acts of transnational repression committed Elon Musk subpoenaed by US Virgin Islands in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit Linda Yaccarino: How Elon Musk may have hired his biggest critic to head Twitter AI pioneer warns UK is failing to protect against ‘existential threat’ of machines Elon Musk announces Linda Yaccarino as new CEO of Twitter How Elon Musk may have hired his biggest critic
2023-05-17 13:49
Who stars in 'The Family Stallone'? Viewers get front row seats to watch Sylvester Stallone's family
The reality show promises to be a change of pace from the action hero image Stallone is known for portraying on the big screen
2023-05-17 13:26
Ex-First Republic CEO blames contagion for bank's collapse
The former chief executive of the First Republic Bank Michael Roffler blamed the bank's collapse on the contagion
2023-05-17 13:25
'He wanted to make his dad proud': 'The Family Stallone' star Sylvester Stallone's oldest son Sage Stallone died under mysterious circumstances
Despite his notable accomplishments as an actor and director, it's clear that Sage Stallone was struggling with personal issues that were taking a toll on his health
2023-05-17 13:23
Commerzbank doubles quarterly profit, helped by higher interest rates
FRANKFURT Germany's Commerzbank said on Wednesday that net profit nearly doubled in the first quarter, a better-than-expected result
2023-05-17 13:22
ESPN announces 'Pat McAfee Show' will join afternoon lineup
Pat McAfee’s show is moving to ESPN as part of a new multiyear deal
2023-05-17 13:21
'We want new judges!' Fans demand 'much-needed' changes as ABC renews 'American Idol' for Season 22
This will be the show's seventh season on ABC after being relaunched after a 15-year run on FOX
2023-05-17 13:20
Siemens raises full year outlook after Q2 sales beats forecasts
By John Revill (Reuters) -Siemens raised its full year sales and profit guidance on Wednesday after the German engineering and
2023-05-17 13:20
Virgin Orbit enters $17 million 'stalking horse' bid to sell aircraft assets
(Reuters) -Bankrupt satellite launch company Virgin Orbit said on Tuesday it entered into a "stalking horse" agreement with Stratolaunch to
2023-05-17 13:19
New Zealand police suspect arson caused hostel fire that killed six
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand police said on Wednesday a fire at a hostel in the capital, Wellington,
2023-05-17 13:16
Analysis-Southern Europe braces for climate change-fuelled summer of drought
By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS Southern Europe is bracing for a summer of ferocious drought, with some regions already
2023-05-17 12:56
‘Volatile’ cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling, says treasury committee
Consumer cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling, the treasury committee has urged. In a new report, the committee called for consumer trading in unbacked crypto assets to be treated in regulation as gambling. The cross-party committee of MPs said cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are being used by criminals in scams and money laundering. Unbacked crypto assets – often called cryptocurrencies – are not supported by underlying assets, the committee added. They pose significant risks to consumers, given their price volatility and the risk of losses, according to the MPs, who said retail trading in unbacked crypto more closely resembles gambling than a financial service and should be regulated as such. The report said: “We strongly recommend that the government regulates retail trading and investment activity in unbacked crypto assets as gambling rather than as a financial service, consistent with its stated principle of ‘same risk, same regulatory outcome’.” The committee pointed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures indicating that around 10 per cent of UK adults hold or have held crypto assets. The MPs also said potential productive innovation in financial services should not be unduly constrained. They said technologies underlying crypto assets may bring some benefits to financial services, particularly for cross-border transactions and payments in less developed countries. A balanced approach should be taken to supporting the development of crypto asset technologies, while avoiding spending public resources on projects without a clear, beneficial use, the MPs said. Harriett Baldwin, chair of the treasury committee, said: “The events of 2022 have highlighted the risks posed to consumers by the crypto asset industry, large parts of which remain a wild west. “Effective regulation is clearly needed to protect consumers from harm, as well as to support productive innovation in the UK’s financial services industry. “However, with no intrinsic value, huge price volatility and no discernible social good, consumer trading of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin more closely resembles gambling than a financial service, and should be regulated as such. “By betting on these unbacked ‘tokens’, consumers should be aware that all their money could be lost.” The committee is considering central bank digital currencies as a separate piece of work. A treasury spokesperson said: “Risks posed by crypto are typical of those that exist in traditional financial services and it’s financial services regulation – rather than gambling regulation – that has the track record in mitigating them. “Crypto offers opportunities but we are taking an agile approach to robustly regulating the market, addressing the most pressing risks first in a way that promotes innovation.” Read More Crypto rules get final approval to make Europe a global leader on regulation Is my money safe? What you need to know about bank failures Nearly 80% of APP scam cases start online, says UK Finance Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-17 12:55