Tesla, or should I say Elon Musk, has been in the news a lot recently. Musk has decided to draw a lime in the sand in regards to the State of California, Alameda County and the steps required to reopen his Fremont factory. (Is this a result of Musk's recent private meeting with his new buddy 45.) Firstly, let's mention that the Bay Area in California (San Francisco, Berkeley, Alameda County - including Fremont, Silicon Valley, etc.) has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and was one of the earliest locales to put social distancing protocols in place which successfully slowing the spread of the disease. Did these steps stop the spread of COVID-19? No and that's why officials are being cautious. People are dying...painfully. So while steps are being taken to re-open the state and the economy, officials may be overly cautious. But then who needs to die so that folks can go to the beach, a restaurant or make more money? Not me. So when Alameda County officials told Tesla, "not yet." Musk went ballistic threatening to move his main offices out of California and move to Texas (where there are few restrictions, if any) or to Nevada (where taxes are almost non-existent mostly due to the State's casinos and gambling industry). I guess Musk forgot how the State of California and Fremont helped him get started a few years ago. Where was Texas then (lining up to protect the Oil Industry I suspect)? Is this an example of the "What have you done for me lately" Janet Jackson stndrome?
What's even more interesting is that Musk wasn't so vocal when the Chinese government put restrictions on his re-opening of his factory in China. China is weeks ahead of the US in this fight and have stalled the disease spread, although after weeks of no new cases of COVID-19 in the region, COVID-19 has recently reared its ugly head once again. The point is that until we get a vaccine or treatment protocol, we're all still at risk.
I understand why Musk is upset. He built his company from scratch and has succeeded against the odds and many pundits. Many of these naysayers are just starting to come around to the idea that Tesla is alive, well, and going to continue. Then COVID-19 changed the world, probably forever.
Musk lashing out like this doesn't prove his case. Since Fremont was once a GM and Toyota facility, there may be some lingering resentment there, but Tesla is a large employer, so... as the saying goes, get over it. Both of you. We're all suffering from this global pandemic and will for some time.
But folks are starting to notice Musk's behavior. A recent article on CNN.com asked the question, "What happened to Elon Musk?" Muxk reportedly Tweeted that these restrictions were a violation of his rights and freedoms. What about my right to not die due to his uncaring behavior and restlessness. California officials okay-ed Tesla's re-opening but with a phased in schedule over the next week. Not good enough for Musk. He opened fully anyway. I guess laws and safety don't apply to him. The UK's right-wing-leaning Daily Mail reported this morning that Musk has listed several of his California holdings (valued at over $100 million) for sale. As a Californian (born and raised) and former Tesla supporter, I say go and take your company with you. I find it interesting that he sees a move to Texas as a good idea, especially since Big Oil has such a strong foothold on the state and few Tesla's are sold there. Almost half of Tesla's sales come from California. Will folks still line-up for Musk's EVs? Probably, but in reduced numbers. I think I'm angry because I saw the future in Tesla vehicles and Musk's behavior (which I've stood up for in the past) is threatening to stall the US's acceptance of battery-electric vehicles. Since the pandemic and social-distancing have taken most folks off the road, the air is much cleaner (and sweeter) here in the LA area. You know, fewer pollutants emitted by gas-powered vehicles. They even saw the difference at the International Space Station.
What makes this doubly sad is that Tesla's vehicles are years ahead of the competition and superior in many ways. Legacy automakers continued to roll out their products with out any thought to the future. I guess it was all about money. A similar thing happened in the 1950s/60s. Automakers were pushing out these giant road-behemoths and Volkswagen came in with the Beetle and Toyota with the Corolla. The automakers laughed, until they noticed folks were buying large numbers of these small(er) cars. Laughing no more, they rushed to prepare their own small cars and we got the Pinto, Vega, etc. The same thing is happening today. Tesla's cars are years ahead of the competition in design and implementation of software. Legacy automakers are scrambling once again. I guess they had no incentive to improve cars and trucks themselves since we were buying them anyway. That is until a start-up company from Fremont, California showed the public what was possible and the rest, as they say, is history.
Musk deserves the kudos for Tesla. But maybe it's time for him to step aside and let others take the company forward (or close his Twitter account). I remember when Apple replaced Steve Jobs with a management team from Pepsi. The new team drove the company into the ground and near bankruptcy. Bringing Jobs back, saved the company and it's now one of the largest in the world. I would hate to see that happen to Tesla. Maybe Musk could stay on as a consultant and go to Texas with this young girlfriend and new baby and enjoy his money. I always liked San Antonio myself.
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