Tech

Elon Musk tells Twitter employees to return to the office or their resignations will be accepted

Elon Musk attends The 2022 Met Gala.
Elon Musk said he wanted to be "crystal clear" about Twitter's office policy. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
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Elon Musk has told Twitter employees that not showing up to an office when they are able to is the equivalent of a resignation.

Twitter's new owner made the comments during an all-hands meeting on Thursday at the company headquarters in San Francisco, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by The Verge.

The new Twitter CEO told employees: "If people do not return to the office when they are able to return to the office, they cannot remain at the company. End of story."

"Basically, if you can show up in an office and you do not show up at the office: resignation accepted," Musk said.

The billionaire added he understood that may not work for some people but it was "the new philosophy at Twitter," per the Verge.

The Tesla CEO said he wanted to be "crystal clear" about Twitter's return-to-office policy.

On Wednesday, Musk told staff via an email that was sent at 2:39 a.m on Wednesday that remote work would no longer be permitted at Twitter. He said that all staff were expected to be in the office for at least 40 hours a week unless given explicit approval, which he would personally review.

Musk has already hinted at a desire to introduce a more intense working culture at Twitter. In the email, he wrote: "The road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed."

In response to a question about attrition at the company, Musk said employees were expected to "perform hardcore," Insider previously reported. If employees couldn't do so "then Twitter is not for you," he said.

Musk has previously expressed his dislike of remote working. In May, he reportedly told executive staff at Tesla to return to the office or resign.

Insider reached out to Twitter for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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Beatrice Nolan was a tech reporter on the business news team in the UK. She joined Insider in January 2022 as a fellow on Business Insider's careers desk. Beatrice covered tech and the future of work, with a focus on artificial intelligence. Some of her stories and early experiments with ChatGPT are widely cited. Beatrice has also discussed her work covering AI trends on panels and radio shows, including NPR.She was based in Business Insider's London office and graduated from the University of  York with a bachelor's degree in English.Featured Articles:Artists say AI image generators are copying their style to make thousands of new images — and it's completely out of their control.ChatGPT was a black swan eventFinland is the world's happiest country, but Finns say we're confusing happiness for something elseThe world is splitting between those who use ChatGPT to get better, smarter, richer — and everyone elseThis man used AI to write and illustrate a children's book in one weekend. He wasn't prepared for the backlash.ChatGPT has only been around for 2 months and is causing untold chaosTwo professors who say they caught students cheating on essays with ChatGPT explain why AI plagiarism can be hard to proveChatGPT wrote college application essays. Admissions professionals said they passed for essays written by students but wouldn't have a chance at any top colleges.College professors are considering creative ways to stop students from using AI to cheatChatGPT wrote my cover letters. Here's how recruiters responded.