The last few years have been pretty different, for both the industry and the people. But one of the more prominent examples that affected both was the idea of remote work, or working from home. Initially the only option, it’s become a popular and often desired method of work for countless companies and employees. But not everyone shares that mindset. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently implemented a mandatory 40 hours on-site requirement for all staff.

A memo and email from Musk sent among Tesla employees recently declared that “remote work is no longer acceptable.” They will require “at least” 40 hours clocked in at their reported on-location offices for all staff. “This is less than we ask of the factory workers,” the email continued. Which is a different problem, but we’ll get to that another time.

While Tesla has not confirmed anything, Musk himself has reinforced the mindset without denying their validity on social media. When questioned about the increased workforce discontent with not allowing remote work, Musk responded with a firm indignation, saying that such people should “pretend to work somewhere else.”

Remote work was, for a while, the only option for many companies, as the COVID pandemic forced many people to quarantine, unable to go into the office unless absolutely necessary. This led to both workers and companies discovering that it’s actually possible to be more productive in less time by allowing this option. Studies have supported this as well.

Not everyone feels the same way as Musk, however. Many companies are adopting a permanent work from home option, believing that it will be better for their business in the long run. Though from what we’ve heard, Tesla is infamous for treating their staff poorly with severe work hours and stressful labor conditions. It’s harder to maintain such conditions from remote work, so this push doesn’t surprise us.

The way we see it, this is a terrible move by Tesla. But tightening their grip on office staff, while other companies offer better, they’re going to see a lot of important folks leave in favor of other work. All that will remain will be the less-desirable, fresh and foolish software engineers. And with electrification and self-driving tech in high interest in the industry right now, it’s a bad time to be losing the good employees.