"Sleeping on the factory floor, doing — why are you doing that?" King asked.
"Because I don't have time to go home and shower," Musk responded.
In the seven days ending April 3, Tesla produced 2,020 Model 3s, the company announced, which was less than its 2,500-car target. Still, Tesla said it hopes to meet its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 cars per week in three months time.
"I don't believe like people should be experiencing hardship while the CEO is, like, off on vacation," Musk told King.
The hands on approach is all part of Musk's leadership style.
Earlier in April, Musk said he would handle direct oversight of Model 3 production. "My job as CEO is to focus on what's most critical, which is currently Model 3 production," tweeted Musk.
Musk has talked about leading from the front lines before.
In November, Musk hosted the company's quarterly investor call from the Gigafactory, Tesla's battery production facility in Nevada, because he'd been there, working day and night to correct production delays, he said.
"I always move my desk to wherever — well, I don't really have a desk, actually. I move myself to wherever the biggest problem is in Tesla," said Musk in November. "I really believe that one should lead from the front lines and that's why I'm here."
Musk said he had been at the factory at all hours.
"I am personally on that line, in that machine, trying to solve problems personally where I can," Musk said at the time. "We are working seven days a week to do it. And I have personally been here on zone 2 module line at 2:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, helping diagnose robot calibration issues. So I'm doing everything I can."
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