Tech workers are calling Musk a hypocrite for saying WFH isn’t fair

• Hundreds of tech workers on Blind have discussed Elon Musk’s stance against telecommuting.
• Some tech workers called Musk a hypocrite and mocked his comments about “laptop classes.”
• On Tuesday, the billionaire said working remotely was “morally wrong”.

Some tech workers aren’t happy about Elon Musk’s latest tirade on remote work and so-called “laptop classes.”

The billionaire sparked discussion via anonymous social media site Blind after calling remote working “morally wrong” and saying that “laptop classes live in La-la land,” during an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. Musk said he thinks it’s unfair that remote workers can work from the comfort of their homes, while people who make their own cars or food have no other choice but to physically go to work every day.

After his comments, many tech insiders took to Blind to call Musk a hypocrite and mock his billionaire status.

“Is this ethically wrong?” a Meta worker wrote in a thread about the issue that drew 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 work via their company email addresses, have posted hundreds of comments and created nearly a dozen threads about it. A Rivian staffer launched a poll on the issue that appeared to mock Musk and the majority of its 480-plus users voted that Musk was “wrong.”

Insider has not independently verified the employment of the users mentioned in this story.

“In this case, private jet travel is morally wrong, since everyone else has to travel on a commercial flight,” one Apple employee wrote in a comment on another work-from-home debate post.

Musk’s private plane was used more than 130 times last year, including many flights that were less than 30 minutes long, according to the college student who tracks the plane using public data.

Other Blind tech workers have accused Musk of being a telecommuter, pointing out that he holds leadership positions at five companies — some of which are based in completely different states. Over the past year, Musk has been known to fly between the SpaceX launch site in Texas and Twitter’s headquarters in California. Last year, it is he said on Twitter that he “also covered Tesla” while he was “working and sleeping” at Twitter headquarters.

Meanwhile, some tech insiders have tried to shatter Musk’s logic and one meta worker called Musk’s speech a “commercial play” to make sure people keep driving to work and buying new ones.

“Landscaping has to work outside in the sun all day, how dare we work inside with air conditioners on,” one Googler wrote. “Everyone should work outside in the sun and sweat all day, anything else is morally wrong.”

While many tech workers criticized Musk’s statement, few seemed to agree with the billionaire.

“Disgusting Jelly Entitlement,” a worker from online payment services company WePay wrote in a post that generated more than 85 comments. “Gardener, plumber, grocery guy can’t work from home, but you claim it because ‘right’ sucks. Get off your high horses and put on some jeans for God’s sake.”

This isn’t the first time Musk has taken a stand against remote working. Last year, Tesla workers were told to return to the office full time or quit. He also called on Twitter employees to return to the office.

Other tech companies have also taken similar steps to bring workers back, 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 prior to publication.

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