Elon Musk: Working from home is ‘morally wrong’ when service workers still have to show up

Silicon Valley “laptop classes” need to get off their “moral high horse” with their “work-from-home bulls***,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk told CNBC’s David Faber in a Tuesday interview.

Musk was discussing return-to-office imperatives that have caused significant concern among tech workers in Silicon Valley and across the U.S., many of whom were promised generous remote work mandates by top executives.

“I think that the whole notion of work from home is a bit like the fake Marie Antoinette quote, ‘Let them eat cake,”” Musk said. “It’s not just a productivity thing,” Musk said. “I think it’s morally wrong.”

Musk referred to tech workers as the “laptop classes living in la-la-land,” telling Faber it was hypocritical to work from home while expecting service workers to continue to show up in person.

“People should get off the goddamn moral high horse with the work-from-home bulls***,” Musk continued.

As productivity apparently slackened and investor expectations grew, many executives at companies including Amazon and Salesforce have demanded workers begin to return to offices.