Musk Rules Out Shorter Work Hours

Tesla Inc. Elon Musk has rejected a suggestion from media mogul Arianna Huffington that he take a break from his professed 120-hour workweeks for the sake of his health.

A reduction, he declared in a 2:30 a.m. tweet on Sunday, is not an option. In an emotional interview last week with The New York Times, Musk described the past year of struggles to launch the company’s Model 3 electric sedan as “excruciating.” He added that, “from a personal pain standpoint, the worst is yet to come.”

Musk appears determined to personally lead Tesla to sustained and profitable mass production of the Model 3. He also must resolve the disruption he triggered with an Aug. 7 tweet declaring that he was considering taking the company private and had secured the funding to do so.

The funding assertion, which Musk has been unable to confirm, has generated shareholder lawsuits, a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a major retreat by his own board. The company’s stock, which briefly surged to nearly $380 after Musk’s privatization tweet, opened today at less than $292.