Anton Savage: I used to think Elon Musk was smart, but his recent moves give me doubt
The Tesla founder, who lives his life very publicly, has had another eventful week.
Originally published in the Business Post.
Elon Musk set a record this week when the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) told him that his company - the one formerly known as Twitter - would have to pay an Irish former employee €550,000 for constructively dismissing him.
The case hinged on the employee failing to tick a box in reply to a company email from Musk requesting that people essentially sign up to unspecified terms of employment as the business was at “a fork in the road”. The employee was given a day’s notice.
There’s a great scene in The Wolf of Wall Street where the federal prosecutor explains to Jordan Belfort that the case against him is utterly overwhelming. “Did you ever hear of Grenada? It’s a small island nation that the United States of America invaded in 1983. It’s about 90,000 people. Essentially it means this case is unloseable. You, sir, are a Grenada.”
Well, in Irish employment law, despite all his vast wealth, Elon Musk was a Grenada, and this record payout can be added to the South African businessman’s already extraordinary list of achievements.
Click here to for the full article.