Elon Musk says cutting his 120-hour workweek isn't an option
Arianna Huffington is calling on Elon Musk to adopt a healthier work-life balance, but the Tesla CEO says that's not an option.
In a tweet early Sunday after arriving home from a late night at a Tesla factory, Musk told the Huffington Post founder that his electric car company and Ford are the only two American automakers that have avoided bankruptcy.
He then added, in an apparent reference to his long hours at work: "You think this is an option. It is not."
Musk was responding to an open letter from Huffington on Friday in which she called on him to change the way he works so he can ensure he's taking more time to "refuel and recharge."
Ford & Tesla are the only 2 American car companies to avoid bankruptcy. I just got home from the factory. You think this is an option. It is not.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2018
Musk conceded in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times last week that he's overwhelmed by job stress, has been working up to 120 hours a week and sometimes takes Ambien to get to sleep.
Tesla has presented plenty of challenges for Musk. The company routinely loses money and is burning through cash as it ramps up development of its Model 3 sedan, a less-expensive electric car it hopes appeals to the mass market. A large number of investors known as short-sellers have bet against the company.
The company's stock price slid 15 percent last week as investors digested reports of a federal securities probe and CEO Elon Musk's emotional interview with the New York Times.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating an August 7 tweet by Musk in which he proposed taking the electric car maker private and said he had secured funding for the transaction. The billionaire told the Times that no one at Tesla reviewed his tweet, which he said he typed while driving himself to the airport.
Asked if he regretted the tweet, he told the Times, "Why would I?"
Musk has provided lofty projections for profits and production that the automaker often fails live up to. Plus, the eccentric billionaire is the head of at least two other companies, including the rocket company SpaceX.
In her open letter, which referenced Musk's interview with the Times, Huffington urged Musk to ease up on the long hours at work.
"Working 120-hour weeks doesn't leverage your unique qualities, it wastes them," she wrote. "You can't simply power through — that's just not how our bodies and our brains work."