"Just get up and walk out": Elon Musk’s unusual meeting rule for Tesla employees

Musk discussed Tesla's approach to meetings and said that employees who had nothing to contribute could leave. For many employees, leaving a meeting before it ends can feel awkward. Even when the discussion has little to do with their work, people often stay until the meeting is officially over because walking out may appear disrespectful. Elon Musk once described a very different approach. During a conversation at the 2015 Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Annual Convention in New Orleans, Musk spoke with Edison International Chairman, Ted Craver about Tesla, electric vehicles and the changing energy industry. Musk discussed Tesla's approach to meetings and said that employees who had nothing to contribute could leave.“We also have a rule that if somebody's in a meeting and finds that this meeting is not helping them in a meaningful way and they are not contributing to the meeting, they should just leave,” Musk said. He then gave a very direct instruction: “Just get up and pack. Just get up and walk out, all right.” Craver asked whether doing that would be considered rude in Tesla's workplace culture. “And would that be, in your culture, would it be rude to do that?” “No, that's exp...