Musk told employees by email on May 31 that they would need to work at least forty hours a week. He said anything else wasphoning it in.
According to people who work for the company in the US and internal documents seen by CNBC, the company doesn't have the room or resources to bring everyone back to the office. The people were not allowed to speak to the press on behalf of the company.
The return-to-office policy has caused a decline in team spirit among teams that allowed employees to work from home before Covid-19.
Before the H1N1 outbreak, employees in office roles were allowed to work from home. The company focused on building out international hubs and a new factory in Texas as it expanded. In order to bring all office employees and long-term contractors in forty hours a week, it did not build enough new workspace or acquire enough office equipment.
A shortage of chairs, desk space, parking spots and other resources made it impossible for the company to bring its employees to the office for 3 days per week. The information previously reported some of this. The in-office schedules were staggered back to two days a week.
Dongles and charging cords have been hard to find. On days where more employees are scheduled to work on-site, crowded conditions send people to take phone calls outside, asTesla never built enough conference rooms and phone booths to accommodate this many employees in attendance at once.
Musk is receiving weekly reports on employee absences.
The home of the first U.S. vehicle assembly plant was the location of about one-eighth of employees in early September. About one-tenth of employees were absent on a typical workday across all of the company.
According to internal reports seen by CNBC, the numbers have remained within that range since March. Absenteeism increases on weekends and holidays.
Absenteeism is measured using data from workers badging into facilities, with unplanned absences divided by planned time off to tabulate daily totals, according to internal records.
Employees are tracked in different ways. The internal reports do not count the badges of direct reports to Musk.
According to internal messages seen by CNBC, the return-to-office policy has caused some employees to lose their sense of worth.
In the past, managers figured out how much remote work was appropriate for their teams. Some executives may still be able to make deals for exceptional employees despite Musk's hardline policy.
After 40 hours on site for all, Musk mandated steep cuts to the company's workforce. Employees who were previously designated as remote workers but were not able to relocate to be in the office for 40 hours a week were given until September 30 to leave.
People who lived far away were asked if they wanted to work in aTesla office for 40 hours a week. According to internal correspondence read by CNBC and two people directly familiar with the firings, some of the people who said they weren't sure if they could relocate or not were dismissed without warning.
The policy has made it harder to get top talent. According to internal correspondence and two resignations confirmed by CNBC, a few employees quit because they wanted more flexibility.
The employees who lived far from the office are now living away from their families to meet the new requirements.
The employee said they were worried about the immigrant workers at the company, who could lose their visas if the company suddenly terminates their roles.
They were concerned that the company's diversity goals could be hit by the closed-mindedness ofTesla.
Black, Hispanic, Native American, Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, veterans and/or people with disabilities were more likely to be candidates who accepted remote job offers.
The company boasted about how it kept employees feeling connected even as they worked from remote offices in its most recent impact report.
The report said, "During the global pandemic, we focused a lot on expanding our community engagement and making sure our employees stayed connected." We ensured our employees felt more heard and connected than ever before as they pivoted to virtual events to promote inclusion across different locations and time zones.
The company did not say how many employees it allowed to work from remote locations before or after the Pandemic.
The company did not reply to the request.
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