- Hundreds of tech workers on Blind debated Elon Musk’s stance against remote work.
- Some tech workers called Musk a hypocrite and poked fun at his comments about the “laptop classes.”
- The billionaire said on Tuesday that remote work is “morally wrong”.
Some tech workers aren’t happy about Elon Musk’s recent tirade about remote work and the so-called “laptop classes.”
The billionaire fueled debate on the anonymous networking site Blind after he called remote work “morally wrong” and said the “laptop classrooms live in la-la land,” during an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. Musk said he thinks it’s unfair that remote workers are able to work from the comfort of their own homes, while the people who drive their cars or make food have no choice but to physically go to work every day. to go.
Following his comments, many tech workers took to Blind to call Musk a hypocrite and poke fun at his billionaire status.
“‘Morally wrong?'” wrote a Meta worker in a thread on the issue that generated more than 70 comments. “It is morally wrong to hoard billions of dollars as well.”
Users on the site, which requires them to verify their employment through their company email addresses, posted hundreds of comments and created nearly a dozen threads on the topic. One Rivian worker launched a poll on the issue that seemed to mock Musk and in which the majority of more than 480 users voted that Musk was “wrong.”
Insider did not independently verify the employment of users quoted in this story.
“In that case, private flying is morally wrong because everyone should be flying commercially,” an Apple worker wrote in a comment on another post about the work-from-home debate.
Musk’s private jet was used more than 130 times last year, including several flights that were less than 30 minutes long, according to the student who tracks the jet using public data.
Other tech workers at Blind accused Musk of being a remote worker himself, pointing out that he holds leadership positions in five companies — some of which are headquartered in completely different states. For the past year, Musk has been known to fly between SpaceX’s launch site in Texas and Twitter’s headquarters in California. Last year he has said on Twitter that he “also covered Tesla” while he “worked and slept” at Twitter’s headquarters.
Meanwhile, some tech workers tried to break Musk’s logic and a Meta worker called Musk’s rhetoric a “corporate game” to get people to drive their cars to work and buy new ones.
“Landscapers have to work outside in the sun all day, how dare we work inside with A/C,” wrote a Google employee. “Everyone should have to work outside in the sun and sweat all day, anything else is morally wrong.”
While many tech workers railed against Musk’s statement, few agreed with the billionaire.
“My generation’s entitlement is sick,” wrote a worker at the online payment service company WePay in a post that generated more than 85 comments. “Your gardener, plumber, grocer can’t all work from home, yet you demand it because a ‘right’ is sick. Get off your high horses and put on some jeans for God’s sake.”
It is not the first time that Musk has taken a stand against remote work. Last year, he told Tesla workers to return to the office full-time or quit. He also called the Twitter staff back into the office.
Other tech companies have also taken similar steps to bring back workers, but employees are fighting back, with some workers choosing to quit rather than return to the office.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.
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