Elon Musk’s Email To Tesla Employees Returning To Work

As you may have read, Tesla reopened its Fremont factory yesterday. Following that, CEO Elon Musk sent an email to Tesla employees thanking them for their hard work in making Tesla successful. The full email is quoted below (screenshot is at link above).

Just wanted to send you a note of appreciation for working hard to make Tesla successful. It is so cool seeing the factory come back to life and you are making it happen!!

An honest day’s work spent building products or providing services of use to others is extremely honorable. I have vastly more respect for someone who takes pride in doing a good job, whatever the profession, than some rich or famous person who does nothing useful.

Gratefully yours,
Elon.

The simple, straightforward email is packed with emotions of gratitude and humility — it shows that Elon Musk not only cares for his employees, but is grateful for them. Elon’s excitement at getting back to work also shows, and is infectious — going back to work is a first step in establishing a sense of normalcy after a chaotic time. It also gives employees a sense of taking their power back. I mean, instead of being at home worrying about finances, working will help alleviate some of those worries because you are putting your mind and body into the job — whatever job that may be.

The truth, I think, is that most of us are happy for Tesla and its employees to be going back to work*. This comes to the relief of those needing to work as well as those who are invested in Tesla (like me), because this is a company shareholders believe in. We want it to succeed. And succeed it will — in the spirit of American entrepreneurship while standing in the face of adversity.

Here’s the info Tesla shared with the county & specific safety guidelines they’re establishing at all Tesla facilities.

Seems like they’re doing their best to protect employees’ health. Not sure why @AlamedaCounty would block Tesla from reopening & letting people return to work pic.twitter.com/sbDMW3iJ1f

— Viv 🐉 (@flcnhvy) May 10, 2020

For those who do have concerns for safety, Tesla has created a guideline for its employees, and I encourage you to read it. Honestly, it reminded me that I need to clean my house — more than the usual sweeping and mopping. Perhaps doing what Tesla plans to do with my own doorknobs, stove knobs, and other things I touch would help make me be more conscientious of everything I touch with my hands.

*Editor’s note: Clearly, there are many people (a lot of people) who think Tesla’s/Elon Musk’s actions this past week were inappropriate. Tesla owners, shareholders, fans, short sellers, and haters have expressed their opinions — sometimes in very colorful ways — that opening without consent of the county was the wrong move, just as many have expressed their words of support. It is a highly controversial matter and quite a complicated matter, so I encourage debate around logic, but let’s please not devolve into food fights and name calling — signs that we have lost our ability to argue a point with facts and logic. I’m concerned that the USA, and the world as a whole, is shifting more and more toward a culture of ad hominem attacks and away from a society built around thoughtful, logical debate that delves into a matter rather than simplifying it into mush and then hurling it at someone’s face on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.