There’s a War on Middle Management and Tesla Just Joined It

Elon Musk embraces flatness, but it may be time to cut ‘sandwich’ bosses some slack

One of the decade’s most influential management cults picked up a prominent new disciple this week—Tesla’s Elon Musk. In a memo announcing a major reorganization, the 46-year-old chief executive revealed that the electric-car maker’s plans include “flattening the management structure.”

The rationale, he wrote, is “to improve communication.”

Many...