Elon Musk slams American work culture, Says Chinese are better at finishing the job
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The world's richest man and Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticised American work culture and said people in the US do not want to work (much). He added that the Chinese are way better at finishing the job.
His comments come amid reports of people at the Shanghai Tesla factory sleeping on-site and working 12-hour shifts with just one day off per week. Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai is currently facing logistics issues due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
Musk was speaking at the 'Financial Times Future of the Car' summit and took the opportunity to praise the Chinese work culture. "They won't just be burning the midnight oil, they will be burning the 3 am oil. He added that the Chinese won't even leave the factory whereas Americans are trying to avoid going to work at all.
The billionaire entrepreneur said he expects some "very strong companies" to come out of China. "There are a lot of super-talented, hardworking people in China who strongly believe in manufacturing".
His criticisms come at a time when experts are repeatedly calling for fewer work hours because hustle culture is causing a number of health issues including high blood pressure, unhealthy eating habits, back pain, burnout, and mental health problems. Many nations are taking steps to reduce work hours and provide more leisure time for people. Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin is advocating the idea of a four-day workweek and six-hour working days.
In 2018, Elon Musk tweeted "nobody ever changed the world with 40 hours a week". He has told the media that he worked 120 hours per week while "everyone" at Tesla worked 100 hours per week. He had claimed in an interview with Recode that people need to work from around 80 to over 100 hours per week to "change the world".
An average, full-time employee in the United States reportedly works for 37.5 hours a week. This is more than other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations that work to build better policies for better lives.