Current Events > Wired does a Musk expose. It's not pretty.

(+) Yeah! (+)

This was done by a very good writer and journalist, Charles Duhigg.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/

At about 10 oclock on Saturday evening, an angry Musk was examining one of the production lines mechanized modules, trying to figure out what was wrong, when the young, excited engineer was brought over to assist him.

Hey, buddy, this doesnt work! Musk shouted at the engineer, according to someone who heard the conversation. Did you do this?

The engineer was taken aback. He had never met Musk before. Musk didnt even know the engineers name. The young man wasnt certain what, exactly, Musk was asking him, or why he sounded so angry.

You mean, program the robot? the engineer said. Or design that tool?

Did you fucking do this? Musk asked him.

Im not sure what youre referring to? the engineer replied apologetically.

Youre a fucking idiot! Musk shouted back. Get the fuck out and dont come back!

The young engineer climbed over a low safety barrier and walked away. He was bewildered by what had just happened. The entire conversation had lasted less than a minute. A few moments later, his manager came over to say that he had been fired on Musks orders, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The engineer was shocked. Hed been working so hard. He was set to get a review from his manager the next week, and had been hearing only positive things. Instead, two days later, he signed his separation papers.

How the heck you treat your workers like this. This is psychopathic behavior.
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Tag
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Shouldn't have smart-mouthed the CEO

And people wonder why they can't get jobs
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REMercsChamp posted...

Shouldn't have smart-mouthed the CEO

And people wonder why they can't get jobs

He didn't. He asked for clarification on what his boss was asking. And musk never answered. It sounds like the guy got fired for someone else's mistake. Not sure why Musk assumed a random person made the mistake

That man should sue

They should unionize.
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Zikten posted...

REMercsChamp posted...

Shouldn't have smart-mouthed the CEO

And people wonder why they can't get jobs

He didn't. He asked for clarification on what his boss was asking. And musk never answered. It sounds like the guy got fired for someone else's mistake. Not sure why Musk assumed a random person made the mistake

That man should sue

Then don't ask the boss questions.
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Sounds like a wrongful termination case to me
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REMercsChamp posted...

Zikten posted...

REMercsChamp posted...

Shouldn't have smart-mouthed the CEO

And people wonder why they can't get jobs

He didn't. He asked for clarification on what his boss was asking. And musk never answered. It sounds like the guy got fired for someone else's mistake. Not sure why Musk assumed a random person made the mistake

That man should sue

Then don't ask the boss questions.

You're either trolling or are completely insane, good communication between employer and employee is essential for good working conditions.
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Smart thing in that situation is say "no sir, I did not do this."

Or
"Let me take a look and I will fix the problem."
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Musk is unhinged if he seriously treats his workers like that.
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Mister_Spyker posted...

REMercsChamp posted...

Zikten posted...

REMercsChamp posted...

Shouldn't have smart-mouthed the CEO

And people wonder why they can't get jobs

He didn't. He asked for clarification on what his boss was asking. And musk never answered. It sounds like the guy got fired for someone else's mistake. Not sure why Musk assumed a random person made the mistake

That man should sue

Then don't ask the boss questions.

You're either trolling or are completely insane, good communication between employer and employee is essential for good working conditions.

You're better off ignoring him
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Ex-Kefiroth posted...

Fuck that guy.

Hope his crap goes bankrupt

He will be continue to grow, as well as his company, in a few decades, after his demise he will not be remembered for this kind of thing. He will be remembered for his contributions to engineering.
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Idk. It seems context is missing here.

Someone got the engineer and brought him to Musk after Musk been at the console awhile and increasingly got angrier.

Why? Are we to believe some random poor sap was brought to him and asked about something he had no idea about?

Or would it make morr sense that said console had known issues and this engineer was the expert of it and should have known about said issues. And whoever fetched him likely said "the ceo is pissed it has error1335 and wants to talk to you"

Then the engineer smarted off cause he thought he was irreplaceable.
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darkphoenix181 posted...

Smart thing in that situation is say "no sir, I did not do this."

Or
"Let me take a look and I will fix the problem."

If only we had the benefit of hindsight all the time.
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darkphoenix181 posted...

Idk. It seems context is missing here.

Someone got the engineer and brought him to Musk after Musk been at the console awhile and increasingly got angrier.

Why? Are we to believe some random poor sap was brought to him and asked about something he had no idea about?

Or would it make morr sense that said console had known issues and this engineer was the expert of it and should have known about said issues. And whoever fetched him likely said "the ceo is pissed it has error1335 and wants to talk to you"

Then the engineer smarted off cause he thought he was irreplaceable.

How is asking "could you clarify what you are asking me?" smarting off?

Ex-Kefiroth posted...

Fuck that guy.

Hope his crap goes bankrupt

Agreed.

Zikten posted...

How is asking "could you clarify what you are asking me?" smarting off?

Boss is cleary very angry and said this thing isn't working. You were fetched to help him.

He already exhausted his patience and now you gonna start asking him questions to answer his questions.

Also what is left out of context is things that a journalist wouldn't know. The console could have had a very clear message explaining the issue and any engineer should have been able to see that message and know what it was. Musk points to that and say it isn't working, did you do this?

It should be clear if that is the case especially since you were fetched to debug that he isn't asking if you programmed the tool or robot. I mean, if you programmed the tool and was fetched BECAUSE you programmed the tool, then he knows you did, you know he knows you did.

But tc said this is a good journalists so musk must be in the wrong ofc.
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Dude is a genius. But also a crazy person.
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Damn this darkphoenix man is off his rocker. Wtf man

darkphoenix181 posted...

He already exhausted his patience and now you gonna start asking him questions to answer his questions.

How dare someone ask for clarification on something

Maybe as a boss he should be a better communicator and not such a child
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Typical rich guy behavior, no surprises here

darkphoenix better actually be Musk himself with this level of nuthugging.
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So he needs engineers to design all this shit who also possess the saintly patience to manage all of his emotions for him.

And really, is this outburst showing us anything we've not already witnessed on twitter?
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That guy put up with more than I would have. You're a human being, not a tool. You shouldn't entertain a boss screaming at you
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LooksLikeDarko posted...

Damn this darkphoenix man is off his rocker. Wtf man

So all there is in a conversation is words? No visual clues?

Musk should not reasonably expect a highly paid engineer to be able to glance at an erroing console and know something is wrong?
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Jesus, some people will break their fucking legs in their hurry to blow Musk.
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Elon Musk's boots don't need you to clean them
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Guys, give darkphoenix a break. Three more shill posts and he gets a free Tesla fridge magnet.
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Someone post the meme pic
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darkphoenix181 posted...

Zikten posted...

How is asking "could you clarify what you are asking me?" smarting off?

Boss is cleary very angry and said this thing isn't working. You were fetched to help him.

He already exhausted his patience and now you gonna start asking him questions to answer his questions.

Also what is left out of context is things that a journalist wouldn't know. The console could have had a very clear message explaining the issue and any engineer should have been able to see that message and know what it was. Musk points to that and say it isn't working, did you do this?

It should be clear if that is the case especially since you were fetched to debug that he isn't asking if you programmed the tool or robot. I mean, if you programmed the tool and was fetched BECAUSE you programmed the tool, then he knows you did, you know he knows you did.

But tc said this is a good journalists so musk must be in the wrong ofc.

You're a sweatshop managers wet dream of what an employee should be like . I feel genuinely terrible for you if you would really let an employer treat you like that.
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You on the other hand are too eager to think Musk be in the wrong here. Why?

The engineer didn't know why Musk was mad according to this journalist.

Imagine if you are the expert at a broken console displaying error codes and fetched by someone to help the CEO. And you are like "idk what going on"

refmon posted...

Did you f***ing do this? Musk asked him.

Im not sure what youre referring to? the engineer replied apologetically.

Youre a f***ing idiot! Musk shouted back. Get the f*** out and dont come back!

See, what if Musk pointed at an error code the engineer is required to know.

And he says "whatever could you be referring to?"

Why is the fact that an employee don't know his basics not fire worthy?
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darkphoenix181 posted...

sluuuuuurp slurp slurp

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justaguy3492 posted...

You're a sweatshop managers wet dream

Oh yes a highly paid engineer being expected to know his stuff = sweat shop

Do you think he has no healthcare, bonuses, paid off time, etc?
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darkphoenix181 posted...

See, what if Musk pointed at an error code the engineer is required to know.

But Musk doesn't do that in the narrative you read in the OP. Apparently he was vague, and interpreted the request for clarity as sass.
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What if that engineer was not even responsible for that side of development?
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darkphoenix181 posted...

...

I guess what's really important here is that you believe you're making yourself look better.
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darkphoenix181 posted...

You on the other hand are too eager to think Musk be in the wrong here. Why?

The engineer didn't know why Musk was mad according to this journalist.

Imagine if you are the expert at a broken console displaying error codes and fetched by someone to help the CEO. And you are like "idk what going on"

Your solution of the engineer just strolling over to the console and fixing a problem that he had no idea about is even worse than asking for clarification. Cause if the engineer got fired for asking what the problem is, what do you think would happen if the engineer guessed on what the issue was and got it wrong? Do you think Musk would have calmed down while watching the engineer bang a wrench around on his robot and then patting himself on the back for solving something he was ignorant about?
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darkphoenix181 posted...

Imagine if you are the expert at a broken console displaying error codes and fetched by someone to help the CEO. And you are like "idk what going on"

At most companies if a CEO came up to me and said "Did you do this?", I would probably ask clarifying questions. Because I wouldn't assume the CEO would know the intricacies of every robot, piece of software, etc. that we work with in one of the many facilities his company oversees.

And even if we pretend for a minute that he was justifiably annoyed by the employee, are we still acting like the rational thing to do when a worker you've never met annoys you is just fire them on the spot?
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LightningAce11 posted...

What if that engineer was not even responsible for that side of development?

The Musk would be wrong.

But then you need to ask why he was fetched and who fetched him.

Problem is you guys think I am saying Musk is a good guy.

I am not.

I am saying this example lacks enough evidence to conclude Musk was in the wrong here.

Infact, there was probably engineer level knowledge required to understand it and it went above the journalists head.
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shockthemonkey posted...

Its funny watching you make up an entirely new chain of events that no one witnesses in order to defend a coked up rich dude.

And you conclude he is evil because one guy witness it and tells one side of the story.


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I don't believe any of this.
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darkphoenix181 posted...

shockthemonkey posted...

Its funny watching you make up an entirely new chain of events that no one witnesses in order to defend a coked up rich dude.

And you conclude he is evil because one guy witness it and tells one side of the story.

This isn't just one story from just one article though. There's hundreds of articles and anecdotes floating around just like this one. You should recognize the context that this one article resides within.
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This to me is the more damning stuff from the article

Employees knew about such rampages. Sometimes Musk would terminate people; other times he would simply intimidate them. One manager had a name for these outburstsElons rage firingsand had forbidden subordinates from walking too close to Musks desk at the Gigafactory out of concern that a chance encounter, an unexpected question answered incorrectly, might endanger a career.

After Musk had patrolled the factory floor for a while, executives pulled him into a conference room. I think we can fix this, one of his top lieutenants, Jon McNeill, told him, according to someone who heard the conversation. McNeill tried to calm Musk down, and repeated a proverb he had once heard: No man comes up with a good idea when being chased by a tiger. At that moment, Musk was the tiger. (A spokesperson for McNeill said he did not want to participate in this story.)

Musk, though, had other concerns. Whats that smell? he asked. Everyone went silent. They knew Musk was so sensitive to odors that job candidates were told not to wear cologne or perfume when they met him. They had seen him become upset over small issues like this, had observed him attack executives for their incompetence and inabilities. One person explained that there were vats of liquid silicon nearby. When heated, it sometimes smelled like burning plastic.

These vapors were going to kill people, Musk said. They were going to kill him.
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If it has been strange to watch Musks wild ride via news reports and social media, its been even weirder inside the company. Over the past six months Ive communicated with dozens of current and former Tesla employees, from nearly every division. They describe a thrilling and tumultuous workplace, where talented engineers and designers have done some of their proudest work but where, as one former executive put it, everyone in Tesla is in an abusive relationship with Elon. Almost all these employees spoke on the condition of anonymity because of nondisclosure agreements or fears of being sued or fired by Musk. (Even those with positive things to say asked for anonymity.) Most wanted the best for Tesla and said the recent profit report made them hopeful that the company is finally climbing onto firmer ground.

But experience gives them pause. A large number of high- ranking executives have left in the past two years, and Tesla has stumbled over basic tasks like delivering its cars. Working at the firm has been an agony and ecstasy, some saysometimes toggling between both extremes in a single day.
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But sometimes his impatience would turn into tirades. We called it the idiot bit, a senior engineering executive told me. If you said something wrong or made one mistake or rubbed him the wrong way, he would decide youre an idiot and there was nothing that could change his mind. Musk would openly deride employees in meetings, according to numerous sources, insulting their competence, bullying those who had failed to perform, demoting people on the spot. Musk could afford to fire, because a long list of qualified people wanted to work at Tesla. Its one of the few companies that is genuinely changing the world, a former executive said. And everyone was so smart.
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Over the next few weeks, executives kept arguing with Musk. A steady stream of engineers began giving notice. And a troubling trend emerged, according to former executives: If someone raised concerns or objections, Musk would sometimes pull the persons manager aside and order that the offender be reassigned, or potentially terminated, or no longer invited to meetings. Some executives began excluding skeptics out of self-preservation. If you were the kind of person who was likely to push back, you got disinvited, because VPs didnt want anyone pissing off Elon, one former executive who reported to Musk told me. People were scared that someone would question something.

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idk why people like him, he seems like a real jackass
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