San Francisco: Elon Musk is back to his extreme work routine. The world’s richest man has announced that he is once again working seven days a week and sleeping in the office when his children are away.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk said, “Back to working 7 days a week and sleeping in the office if my little kids are away.” He shared an old video of himself being called a “Wartime CEO,” a term he uses to describe periods of intense focus during major challenges.
In the video, Musk emotionally reflects on past struggles, especially during Tesla’s hardest days. “No one should put these many hours into work. This is not good. This is very painful. It hurts my brain and my heart,” he says in the clip.
Musk’s return to “wartime mode” comes at a time when multiple ventures are putting pressure on him. His hands are full with developments at X, ambitious plans at Tesla and SpaceX, growing efforts in AI, and his new project in government reform through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
This is not the first time Musk has taken on such a schedule. In February 2025, he said that he and his team at DOGE were working 120 hours a week, while government officials only put in 40. “That is why they are losing so fast,” Musk remarked.
In past interviews, Musk has talked openly about sleeping on factory floors during critical moments. During Tesla’s Model 3 crisis in 2018, he worked up to 120 hours a week, even sleeping on the floor of the factory. “We were losing $50 [million], sometimes $100 million a week,” Musk told CBS.
He once said in a 2022 interview that he lived in Tesla’s Fremont and Nevada factories for three years. “It was damn uncomfortable sleeping on that floor. And always, when I woke up, I’d smell like metal dust,” he shared.
Musk has often expected the same from his teams. After acquiring Twitter in 2022, he asked employees to commit to “long hours at high intensity.” Those unwilling were offered severance.
He even converted Twitter’s offices into makeshift bedrooms, prompting a probe by San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection. Critics called it unsafe. Musk fired back on X:
“So the city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl.”
Elon Musk’s relentless approach has often drawn both admiration and criticism. As he enters yet another intense work phase, all eyes will be on how it impacts the future of his many ventures.
