Tesla employees in Germany have reported surprise visits from managers while on medical leave, according to a report by Ziare.
Three Times Higher than Industry Average
Some workers threatened to call the police or slammed doors in frustration when managers showed up unannounced.
The visits coincided with a sharp rise in sick leave at Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory, where 17% of employees were on medical leave in August — over three times higher than the auto industry's average.
Dirk Schulze, a regional head of Germany's IG Metall union, called these visits "absurd" and highlighted the heavy workload and pressure that workers face, particularly when colleagues are absent. He noted that this has resulted in remaining employees being overburdened with additional work.
Live and Sleep There
Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the report, stating, "This seems crazy. Looking into it." He made the comment on X (formerly Twitter) in response to a post summarizing the Handelsblatt article.
Musk had previously warned Tesla employees in January to brace for more intense work demands. He emphasized the importance of engineers spending time on the production line, even suggesting they should live and sleep there during critical periods.
This incident is not the first time Musk has been vocal about employee absences. In 2022, shortly after taking over X, Musk complained about the high costs of providing free lunches at the company's San Francisco headquarters, citing its low occupancy.
