Elon Musk‘s latest announcement at X has raised eyebrows and sparked concern among employees. The tech mogul has introduced a new rule that requires staff to “justify” their eligibility for stock options before they can access them. This comes on the heels of an internal meeting in June where Musk informed employees that promotions would be delayed and a new evaluation process would be implemented with “lighter-weight check-ins.”
Elon Musk tells X staff to write a one-page summary
Looks like Musk is tying stock rewards to the impact you make—time to impress and not just guess! According to The Verge, the Tesla tycoon has rolled out a new policy that’s more “throwback” than “tech forward.”
Musk In a late-night email sent to the employees, announced that stock options at X will now be handed out based on employee impact. Workers will need to submit a one-page summary of their contributions to cash in on these options.
Musk’s new order comes after his 2022 powerful message where he pushed his team to really go all-in on building Twitter 2.0. He made it clear that this meant working super hard and for a long time. In that email, Musk said, “Only outstanding performance will be deemed acceptable,” and emphasised that this would require “long hours at high intensity.”
This setback is just another blow to a team already seeing departures, with some employees leaving due to the challenges of working under Musk’s leadership. As X, formerly known as Twitter, continues to navigate turbulent waters, employees have been anticipating the possibility of layoffs. Initially, Musk promised stock options for everyone, but now it seems he’s pulled an UNO reverse on them.
Elon Musk’s leadership under scrutiny
Elon Musk has been in the headlines recently, both for business and political reasons. His companies have faced a wave of departures, and Tesla’s sales have been declining.
In the past, Musk has also faced legal troubles due to allegations of denying benefits to former Twitter/X employees. Since acquiring Twitter (now X) in October 2022, Musk has laid off thousands of employees, reducing the workforce by a massive margin. This led to a lawsuit from former executives who claimed that Musk refused to pay them severance pay after firing them without cause.
Lately, a former VP at Tesla, who left after 11 years, shared how tough it was to work with Musk. Despite her 11-year tenure and positive experiences, Sreela Venkataratnam admitted that working at Tesla was “not for the faint of heart.” The departure follows a trend of other senior Tesla employees leaving the company in recent months, including Drew Baglino and Rohan Patel.
