Elon Musk said on Friday that he wanted to “basically” increase childcare benefits at his companies, including Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), and that the details would probably be announced in a month.
His comments came a day after Musk tweeted that he would do his best to help with what he called “the underpopulation emergency.” This came after a media report said that he had secret twins with a top chief on his mind chip to turn on Neuralink.
“Please make an effort for the kids. In a tweet, Musk said, “I want to make childcare benefits at my companies much better.”
Musk, who is the father of nine children and is listed by Forbes as the world’s richest person with an estimated total worth of $237.1 billion, said that his foundation, of which he is the president, plans to give directly to families without giving more details.
Musk is also the founder and CEO of the private rocket company SpaceX, in addition to Tesla and Neuralink.
According to its effect report, one of Tesla’s employee benefits is four months of paid family leave.
Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL.O) Google, on the other hand, offers paid parental leave for up to 24 weeks. Google has been known for a long time as a world leader in workplace benefits.
The effect report shows that Tesla is behind other U.S. tech companies and automakers when it comes to how women are portrayed.
According to Tesla’s 2020 diversity report, 17 percent of chiefs and vice presidents in the U.S. were women.
According to a 2020 report by scientist Equileap, only about 22% of other S&P 500 companies’ top jobs were held by women.
Some experts were worried that Musk’s new plan to rethink office requirements for employees could also hurt the way women are portrayed, since telecommuting gives them more freedom.
“Even though the strategy is nonpartisan all the way through, it could make life hard for women and people with disabilities,” said Obermayer partner Melissa Atkins, who advises clients on a wide range of work and business issues.
Musk recently told employees at both Tesla and SpaceX to work at least 40 hours a week at their jobs or quit. Many tech companies and automakers offer a mix of in-office and remote work, which is different from this plan.
