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Steve Jobs' was not completely dependent on both a redistribution of money from competitors (to fund luxury cars, it's honestly ethically repulsive) to his comp
by nostrebored 9y ago
Steve Jobs' was not completely dependent on both a redistribution of money from competitors (to fund luxury cars, it's honestly ethically repulsive) to his company, local and federal subsidies. He also was 1500 times less dependent per unit on slave labor to exfiltrate cobalt in the Congo. The US already has legislation around buying minerals from the Congo, but Cobalt is a specific exemption, and one that is entirely necessary for the entire electric car industry to function.
Were we to decide tomorrow that we did not want 7 year olds to be forced to mine, Tesla as a company would disappear!
Tesla as a company does not exist without government intervention or exploitation.
- rm_-rf_slash 9y agoThe entire United States would not have existed without government intervention and exploitation. Picking on Tesla in particular is kind of a moot point.
- nostrebored 9y agoSo we should not be critical of anti competitive market situations just cause? The fact is that Tesla is a company that is amazing at rent seeking.
- chillacy 9y agoYou could have also picked on the iPhone for their (especially in the early days) terrible labor conditions for assemblers in Foxconn too. There are plenty of rare earth minerals that go into the supply chain there as well. The US gov definitely plays favorites anyways (including with existing automakers) so if you're going to do business, you might as well try to build political favor for your industry as a cost of doing business.
- nostrebored 9y agoRare Earth minerals have significantly more regulation. They used to not, but now Cobalt is the exception. Labor conditions in the war torn Congo in which literal slaves mine Cobalt is a little different than adults working in awful conditions.