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Elon Musk: We Should Have Seen the Signs
Why you should think twice about owning Tesla shares
For twelve years, Mary Beth Brown worked for Elon Musk. Her job required extensive weekly travel between Los Angeles and Silicon Valley, often involving late nights and weekend work.
Her responsibilities included managing Musk’s calendars at SpaceX and Tesla, public relations, and providing input on key business decisions. She seemed inseparable from Musk, working the same 20-hour days beside him. She would most likely feel indispensable.
In early 2014, Brown approached Musk and asked him for a raise. Instead of saying ‘yes’, Musk gave Brown time off to see what it was like without her. He wanted to figure out how essential Brown was. Brown took two weeks off and when she returned, Musk fired her.
It was a real shock to Brown. Perhaps there was a plan behind his decision. The story reinforced the popular image of Musk as a cold and heartless taskmaster.
There are always two sides to a story. Musk would argue he didn't need her services anymore. However, one thing is for sure, from then on any of Musk’s employees with a mortgage, car loan, or a family to feed had to think twice about asking him for a raise.
