Tesla has defended visiting the homes of German employees who call in sick as Elon Musk pledges to investigate high rates of absenteeism.
André Thierig, the manager of Tesla’s gigafactory on the outskirts of Berlin, said turning up at the homes of staff was not unusual.
“We wanted to appeal to the work ethic of the workforce,” he told DPA, the German press agency.
It came after German media reported that Tesla bosses had checked in on 30 employees as part of an attempt to fight a spate of absences.
The carmaker has provided bonuses to staff who turn up for work regularly and executives have suggested that staff who frequently call in sick are “dishonourable” and are “exploiting” the system.
Staff calling in sick at the Berlin gigafactory reached 17pc in August, compared to an average rate of sick leave in Germany’s car manufacturing industry of just over 5pc.
Sick leave is also higher on Fridays, executives have said. “That is not an indicator of bad working conditions because the working conditions are the same on all working days and across all shifts,” Mr Thierig said. “It suggests that the German social system is being exploited to some extent.”
In response to a tweet about the high rates of absence, Mr Musk wrote: “This sounds crazy. Looking into it.”