In a move that would have most HR professionals keeling over in dismay, two of Tesla’s top executives have been turning up at the homes of sick employees; and not to deliver flowers.
A German newspaper has reported that managing director André Thierig and head of human resources, Erik Demmler, have been visiting employees after being riled by the rising levels of sick leave.
Tesla is owned by Elon Musk, who seems to have an issue with work boundaries, including staff surveillance and the apparently grey area of impregnating your employee.
Surveillance State
This latest and bizarre act of employee infringement was reported by local German newspaper Handelsblatt and has now been picked up internationally. The newspaper had access to a recording from an internal meeting in which the two executives discussed what they had been up to and why.
Electric vehicle title, Electrive, published a translation of the conversation, in which the pair talk about how sick-leave levels at the Tesla factory in Berlin hit 17% in August and 11% at the start of September. The factory houses 12,000 workers.
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Demmler says that the figures “…meant we had to go to the people. And that’s what we did.” He adds: “This has nothing to do with general suspicion. We simply picked out 30 employees who had the relevant abnormalities, who had been on sick leave for quite a long time, but also to a lot of people who handed in first sick notes.”
Frosty Reception
While Demmler insists that the visits were driven by a desire to see how sick the employees were and if they needed some help, the response to their visits was less than favorable. “You could just tell by the aggression,” Demmler says. “By having the door slammed shut. By being threatened with the police. By being asked if you don’t have to make an appointment first.”
Electrive adds that Tesla has form for being sticky about sick leave. Thierig is reported to have said in the past that there was no room in his factory for people who “couldn’t get out of bed” in the morning. Tesla also offered bonuses to employees who logged low sick leave in July 2024.
History of Employee Disgruntlement
This isn’t the first time that Musk’s company has gotten into hot water over staff treatment.
There were early mumblings about safety at the factories, reports of staff being fired on the spot by their irascible CEO, as well as accusations of racism from black workers that resulted in a lawsuit.
The erratic tech billionaire has also instigated a draconian RTO policy, which saw Tesla staff summoned to their line manager if they don’t turn up at the office. Musk said at the time: “Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla.”
Staff at X have faced a similar policy, which has not gone down well after a cull of 75% of staff.
Musk’s exec teams have obviously missed the memo that unhappy staff take more sick leave.
Musk Way or the Highway
As the LA Times wrote, working for Musk means “out-of-nowhere firings, the threats and the bluster, the pubescent jocularity, the day-to-day uncertainty and the urgent demands to work through the night.” Surprise visits to sick employees is just another addition to an already pretty shocking list.
