40-hour week for Elon Musk would be getting off lightly as a CEO

The working week of chief executives is rarely defined, but big investors have taken aim at the Tesla boss for going missing.

Investors want a “distracted” Elon Musk to spend at least 40 hours per week working at Tesla. Picture: AP Photo

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How many hours should a CEO work in a week? Given the generous pay packets and perks that come with the top job, our bosses are expected to be putting in a big week.

However, time worked has rarely been defined or measured. The complexity and demands of a CEO’s job means it’s not a clock-on, clock-off proposition.

Now, a group of US investors have sought to put a minimum expectation around one of the world’s seemingly untouchable bosses: Elon Musk.

It comes after the Tesla CEO’s brazen adventure into politics and heading up Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency since January — an unpaid position now largely finished.

Tesla’s shares and sales have come under pressure with Elon Musk focused on projects outside the electric vehicle maker. Picture: AFP

Musk’s actions in the Trump administration and his more outlandish claims on social media platform X, which he also co-owns and runs, is damaging the brand of EV maker Tesla. Tesla’s sales are stalling, and the manufacturer has missed out on a rebound in shares enjoyed by other tech stocks.

Several US and European asset managers have sent a letter to Tesla’s board, taking aim at the poor governance at the carmaker, under Australian chair Robyn Denholm, for allowing their CEO to go missing in action. Their demands are unlikely to get much traction. Denholm has rarely taken a different position — or any position — to Musk.

As Denholm’s board is negotiating a remuneration package with Musk, the funds are demanding this includes a clear time commitment including at least 40 hours a week dedicated to the management of Tesla.

A week this short would mean Musk gets off very lightly, even before considering a monster pay package valued by Tesla at nearly $US45bn ($70bn), spanning a decade.

A long-running Harvard Business Review study led by Michael Porter looked closely at CEOs at major US-listed companies and found on average they worked 62.5 hours a week.

On average this was split between 9.7 hours a day during the week and an average of 3.9 hours a day on weekends. Even while on annual leave, CEOs averaged 2.4 hours a day, the study found.

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm. Picture: Getty

Australian CEOs regularly clock 60 to 80 hour weeks even though employment contracts are silent on how long they should work. As one former boss of a major ASX company tells The Australian, “It’s relentless — even in a good week”.

There’s also big demands after hours including company events, meeting customers, employees and investors. Travel and meetings that follow also soak up an extraordinary amount of time, particularly for companies with international operations or CEOs embarking on international roadshows.

Few CEOs know what the figure of a standard work week is because the nature of the job is almost entirely outcome driven. CEOs are nearly always measured by a scorecard of financial returns and other engagement measures.

As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.

The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025

As the Porter study says: “Running a large global company is an exceedingly complex job. The scope of the organisation’s managerial work is vast, encompassing functional agendas, business unit agendas, multiple organisational levels, and myriad external issues”.

It also involves a wide array of constituencies — shareholders, customers, employees, the board, government, community organisations, and more.

“On top of that, the CEO must be the internal and external face of the organisation through good times and bad,” the Harvard study says.

The demands intensify massively for a company in crisis mode. The former boss of Star, Robbie Cooke, was regularly in the office at the desk before 4.00am and working straight through until late in the night.

One former big four bank boss put in so-called “bankers hours” in the office, starting early and leaving early, but spent the rest of the evening working from home, to at least be “present” for his young family. Other Australian CEOs report of never switching off and days managed in 15 minute diary slots.

In April ASX-listed lender Humm Group attempted a brave experiment in Australian business by backing their CEO Stuart Grimshaw to work part-time, with the reduced hours largely due to personal reasons. Grimshaw stood down less than a month later.

In addition to Tesla, and X, Musk splits his time on his rocket and satellite venture, SpaceX as well as his private investment foundation. Musk has previously said in interviews he manages his time between companies by focusing predominantly on one company a day.

Musk last month said from May he was allocating “far more of my time” to Tesla but would still spend a day or two on government matters. Musk, the world’s richest man, boasts he often sleeps in the office

There’s few prescriptive rules around how long or little a CEO should work.

On Thursday, in a post on X, Musk said he was leaving his role at DOGE entirely, saying his scheduled time at the agency was coming to an end.

The letter to Tesla says Musk’s outside endeavours “appear to have diverted his time and attention from actively managing Tesla’s operations, as any other chief executive officer of a publicly traded company would be expected to do”.

“The current crisis at Tesla puts into sharp focus the long-term problems at the company stemming from the CEO’s absence, which is amplified by a board that appears largely uninterested and unwilling to act in the best interest of all Tesla shareholders by demanding Mr Musk’s full-time attention on Tesla.”

The pension funds range from US state-sponsored public service schemes including from New York, Oregon and Illinois. There’s several European funds and insurers, and a peak group overseeing US teachers funds with more than $US3 trillion in combined assets.

They have also brought into focus the question of CEOs doing outside work by demanding Tesla’s boards have an explicit “over boarding” policy for directors which specifically limits outside board commitments at both public and private companies.

In Australia, again, there’s no hard rule, but it is generally discouraged for CEOs to sit on a board outside their own company, subsidiary or tied investment. However, as CEOs near the end of their tenure outside board work is more tolerated.

This is different from CEOs sitting on boards of charities or not for profits, which is encouraged to get a world view. Increasingly, top executives who are not CEOs are sitting on outside boards. Oliva Wirth was a Myer director when she was also running Qantas’ Loyalty business. Today, Wirth is Myer’s executive chair. Richard Murray heads up Total Tools in Metcash and sits on the AFIC board.

Australian fund exposure to Tesla is relatively modest, given general exposure to other so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks.

Aware Super has the biggest holding, running to $US123m, according to recent filings. UniSuper has nearly $US96m. Cbus has just under $US3m. Australian Super has no direct exposure of any significance, according to US filings.

It is understood the funds have yet to raise the issue of Musk’s work habits to Tesla’s board.

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