Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed workaholic and multitasking mogul behind Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), has long preached the gospel of extreme hustle. His mantra? Sleep at the office, work 100+ hours a week, and push your employees to do at least 80. Just don’t expect him to follow that advice himself.
At Tesla—whose stock has plummeted 71% as of April 2025, ever since Musk started dabbling more openly in Trump-era politics—some investors have finally had enough. They’ve sent a rather unusual request to Tesla’s board of directors: could the CEO maybe show up and work… say, 40 hours a week?
It’s not exactly a revolutionary demand. Most regular employees are expected to work at least that. But for Musk, who used to brag about living at the factory and running multiple companies simultaneously, it appears to be a tall order.
In a letter addressed to Tesla chair Robyn Denholm, the investors didn’t mince words. They expressed concern that Musk’s “external commitments” are pulling him away from what he should actually be doing—namely, running a public company with more than a few issues on its plate.
Some investors are even willing to compromise: Musk could cram those 40 hours into just three days, and spend the rest of the week launching rockets, managing social media chaos, or flirting with political ambitions. “We just want to ensure he’s dedicating enough time to overseeing and, in the case of executives, actually managing the company,” said Tejal Patel, executive director of SOC Investment Group, in an interview with Fortune. Translation: Is anyone home at the top?
The criticism doesn’t stop at Musk. Investors also want a truly independent board member—someone who might actually point out when the emperor is, well, wearing no clothes. Right now, Tesla’s board seems more like a fan club than a body capable of challenging its mercurial CEO.
To make matters worse (or at least more absurd), Musk has openly admitted he can only dedicate one day a week to Tesla. Given that, shareholders aren’t demanding his resignation (yet), but they are calling for a succession plan. Not because they want to replace him immediately, but because it would be nice to have a backup in case Musk gets permanently sidetracked by Mars colonization or another “free speech” crusade on X.
One potential candidate being floated is Tom Zhu, the longtime head of Tesla’s Asia-Pacific operations and one of Musk’s most trusted lieutenants. At least until he, too, asks for a weekend off.
