In a recent lawsuit, former Tesla executive Mike Tully has accused the electric vehicle giant of reneging on its remote work policy, leading to a relapse in his health issues and nearly causing the breakdown of his marriage.

Tully, who joined Tesla after a 16-year tenure at Bank of America, had received "excellent" performance reviews during his two months tenure.

Source: LinkedIn

He claims that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's opposition to remote work policies affected his position, despite initially being offered a work-from-home role. Tully was later asked to relocate to Fremont, roughly 400 miles from his home or resign.

Tesla has had a very strict policy about work-from-home positions, as Musk said a few years ago that anyone working at the company would need to work 40 hours in a physical setting per week or resign.

Musk is also pushing for an end to federal telework, as he and Vivek Ramaswamy are heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Tully was given until December 2022 to move or he would be terminated. His reasons for not leaving Irvine were because of a family business that was there and his wife still managed, and his children planned to attend universities nearby.

However, the divorce threat, Chron’s disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) appeared due to stress: “They discussed various options, such as a nearby office or moving [Tully] to another division within the company that was within an easier commute distance.

[The HR exec] stated he understood the concern, and he would get back to him.”

Despite assurances that he would not have to move, Tully's job offer was ultimately rescinded, and he was terminated the following day.

In his lawsuit, Tully is seeking punitive, economic, and special damages from Tesla, as well as injunctive relief to prevent the company from engaging in similar conduct in the future.

Mike Tully was a former Vice President of Insurance Compliance & Operational Risk Paralegal at Bank of America based in Newport Beach, California, according to his LinkedIn.

He left Bank of America in April 2022 and joined Tesla before his termination shortly thereafter.

Mike is currently self-employed as an independent Senior Compliance Paralegal and Vendor Manager.