While Internet companies continue to delay the resumption of work notice, while Musk defied the ban forced to return to work. Whether or not the age of telecommuting has arrived seems to depend on case by case.

Twitter employees can now work from home forever if they want to.

Just days after Google and Facebook announced that employees will be able to work from home all year through 2020, Twitter has gone even further.

On May 12, Twitter’s chief executive, Jack Dorsey, sent an email to employees saying they would be allowed to work from home permanently, even after the outbreak was over

  • Yes, you read that right, it’s “Work At Home Forever.”

Of course, some tasks that need to be done offline (such as server maintenance) will still require employees to go to the office.

Twitter: Work from home forever, probably never to go back

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, Twitter encouraged employees to start working from home in early March.

“We were one of the first companies to adopt the work-at-home model, and we’ve been thinking about continuing it ever since, putting the safety of people and communities first,” a Twitter spokesperson said.

Back when Twitter started working from home, Jennifer Christie, the company’s head of human resources, said the company’s work structure “will probably never be the same.”

“People who don’t want to work remotely will find that it really helps them grow,” she says. “Managers who don’t think they can manage remote teams will change their minds. So I don’t think we’ll ever go back to work.”

In fact, CEO Jack had already announced his intention to work in a “distributed” way before the outbreak, but the COVID-19 pandemic has only pushed that plan forward.

  • Twitter’s recent flurry of activity will make its stock price rise

Jack said in an email that Twitter is unlikely to open its offices until September and, with very few exceptions, will cancel business trips before then. The company will also cancel all offline events for the rest of the year and reevaluate its plans for 2021 later this year.

Finally, Twitter also said it would increase its home office allowance to $1,000 for all employees.

Does Twitter, which is encouraging home-based work, find that it saves the company a lot of money when its employees work from home?

Musk goes retrograde: Tesla needs to get back to work soon

On May 10, Musk filed a lawsuit against the Alameda County government in California, threatening to move Tesla out of the state if the company doesn’t resume work.

“Unpaid leave will end,” she said, adding that employees who do not want to return to work may continue to take unpaid leave, but may no longer be eligible for unemployment benefits.

  • Musk has been anxious about returning to work since April

That same evening, Tesla released a 37-page “return to work plan” that included adding disinfection, taking workers’ temperatures, cutting shuttle bus use by half, and providing workers with personal protective equipment.

Musk’s patience ran out on May 12, when he defied a government injunction and reopened Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, becoming the first person to defy the county’s order.

I’m going to keep in touch with everyone, and if anyone gets arrested for this, just me, Musk said. It’s pretty tough.

Musk’s tweets were mostly filled with supportive comments, and Trump also tweeted his support for reopening the plant as soon as possible.

The state of California says Iron Man wins

On May 13, Musk scored a victory in that battle.

Authorities in Alameda County, Calif., said on Wednesday that Tesla’s local assembly plant could begin increasing its minimal business operations after the county and Tesla had had productive talks on a safety plan.

  • The assembly plant for Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y SUVs has opened

Musk has his reasons for being so anxious to get back to work. As a manufacturing plant, unlike an Internet company, many operations require workers to perform on site.

Tesla’s California factory has been closed since March 23, and workers have been on unpaid leave since then. Businesses have been losing $300 million a week during the nearly two-month shutdown.

Tesla, one of California’s largest employers, employs about 10,000 people at its Fremont plant. In 2017, Tesla contributed more than $5 billion to the state of California, paid $328 million directly to California state and local tax authorities, and supported more than 50,000 jobs in California in 2017.

So why would California let Tesla move?