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
‘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
Microsoft’s Nadella Disputes Musk Claim of Controlling OpenAI
Microsoft Corp. is not in control of OpenAI, Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in an interview aired
2023-05-17 12:52
Sea Slumps as Profit Miss Suggests Turnaround Still Fragile
Sea Ltd. had its worst day in more than a year after earnings missed estimates and gaming revenue
2023-05-17 10:24
Elizabeth Holmes Loses Final Bid to Stay Out of Prison
Elizabeth Holmes lost her final request to remain free on bail while she appeals her fraud conviction. The
2023-05-17 07:57
An AI CEO Went to Washington and Asked for Rules: Key Takeaways
The Senate’s first major hearing on artificial intelligence covered everything from the lighthearted marvels of generative AI to
2023-05-17 06:25
ChatGPT chief says artificial intelligence should be regulated by a US or global agency
The head of the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT has told Congress that government intervention will be critical to mitigating the risks of increasingly powerful AI systems
2023-05-17 05:58
Lyft names Erin Brewer as CFO
Lyft Inc said on Tuesday it has named Erin Brewer as its chief financial officer. Brewer will replace
2023-05-17 04:24
Barclays technology banker joins Citigroup
By Milana Vinn NEW YORK Ed Wehle, a senior Barclays Plc technology banker, has resigned to join U.S.
2023-05-17 04:21
YouTube sends gun videos to 9-year-olds: 'It's not the kids. It's the algorithms,’ study finds
YouTube is great at sending users videos that it thinks they'll like based on their interests
2023-05-17 03:20
Your iPhone will soon be able to replicate your voice after 15 minutes of training
Apple on Tuesday announced a series of new accessibility tools for the iPhone and iPad, including a feature that promises to replicate a user's voice for phone calls after only 15 minutes of training.
2023-05-17 02:57
US Senator Uses ChatGPT for Opening Remarks at a Hearing on AI
US Senator Richard Blumenthal opened a hearing on AI with a recording of his voice describing the risks
2023-05-17 02:27