Elon Musk responds to story of him putting his assistant through a 2-week test

Advertisement

Elon Musk

Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The New York Times

Elon Musk.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a few words for the author who retold the story of his longtime assistant, Mary Beth Brown, a woman who quit working for Musk after 12 years, in 2014.

Advertisement

Ashlee Vance shared the anecdote in his biography of Musk, titled "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.".

According to Vance, Brown asked Musk for a significant raise after working for him for more than a decade. In response, Musk told Brown to take two weeks off, during which he would assume her responsibilities and see whether she was critical to his success.

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

When Brown returned, Musk told her he didn't need her anymore, according to the book's account.

Musk took issue with that, saying "Of all the bogus anecdotes, this one troubles me the most. Ashlee never actually ran this story by me or my assistant. It is total nonsense," Musk tweeted Thursday night.

Advertisement

He continued: "Mary Beth was an amazing assistant for over 10 yrs, but as company complexity grew, the role required several specialists vs one generalist."

"MB was given 52 weeks of salary & stock in appreciation for her great contribution & left to join a small firm, once again as a generalist," Musk said.

However, Musk conceded that the biography overall was not entirely flawed, calling it "mostly correct," but saying that the story was "rife with errors and never independently fact-checked" despite his request for that. The book was originally published in May 2015.

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.