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I honestly don't know what to think of this. Can Elon even make unilateral and rash decisions like this? I know Tesla is hurting right now due to the forced s

I honestly don't know what to think of this. Can Elon even make unilateral and rash decisions like this? I know Tesla is hurting right now due to the forced shutdowns of manufacturing, but so are all the other OEMs - why is Elon trying to hard to sidestep restrictions?

rio517 6y ago
Seems like is is trying to get same restrictions as other places in California. And elsewhere.
kitotik 6y ago
Ummm, money?
bilbo0s 6y ago
>Can Elon even make unilateral and rash decisions like this? Investors almost certainly knew what they were signing up for, so, "yes" would be the answer. How Tesla ends is not yet written, but even enterprises with steady, conservative hands on the reins have sputtered.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
jariel 6y ago
1) His factory cannot get moving, due to restrictions, he's using a populist platform to make sure people know it's not his fault, and to put pressure on the county. 2) He's using Twitter a little bit like Trump - saying somewhat inflammatory things, tapping into an emotional vein, possibly garnering support from fanboys, making noise. Twitter it seems, is a place where statements don't have to be fully true or real. It's like an 'emotional landscape' where people can push the buttons of the masses and get away with it. A lot of people in the investor class right now are upset their stocks are falling, they see the pandemic is not as bad as predicted and they want everyone back to work. Many working people feel similarly. But a larger group of people, especially those in difficult conditions, are rightly afraid; the 'meatpacking plants' in various places have had huge covid outbreaks and some deaths, in Canada it's been a serious source of outbreak. There's no reason to believe it won't be the same anywhere else. But Elon is missing something in his rants: if and when the factory does startup, there will be a COVID outbreak on some level and there is a very high chance that a Tesla employee somewhere, somehow will die from COVID. Now it may not be 'his fault' but it won't matter. If Elon is seeing as being unsympathetic and not concerned about his staff - and - someone dies from Covid (one way or another, possibly not even really related to his policy) - then it could blow up and backfire on him in an existential way. CNN: "Elon Musk forces people back to work; 2 dead from Covid" - is the kind of stain that does not come off. Elon needs to spend a lot more time publicly demonstrating empathy and showing materially how he is working protecting his workers.
- photoGrant 6y ago
  I’m shocked you’re downvoted as you have a level headed opinion that doesn’t polarise and pick objectives. It’s the problem not seen
- ac29 6y ago
  > A lot of people in the investor class right now are upset their stocks are falling I'm not sure this is entirely true - stocks are worth more than they were last June, way before this crisis started and have trended up over the past month. Maybe this will still be true in 6 months or a year, maybe not - its far too early to say. If anything, it seems the "investor class" thinks there are bargains to be had right now.
  - jariel 6y ago
    Almost everyone lost out, and so they are down from the peak, so the bargains are neutral, or rather, they don't have the excess cash for them. Very few had the wherewithal to time it right. But culturally, the business world has an innate paternalistic industriousness. They want to 'get things moving' on a much deeper level. Musk is saying what most business leaders are thinking, right or wrong.
    - perl4ever 6y ago
      The Nasdaq is up for the year. Everybody panicked around March 13th, and the market bottom appears to have been within a week of that. It's been nearly straight up from there. I don't know if Wall Street was right yet, but that was its verdict. Now, it's true that my IRA is down a little, but I'm not really "the investor class". You say "very few had the wherewithal to time it right", but I'd question that, because all it took, in principle, was doing nothing. Not possible for everyone who's unemployed, for instance, but not something that takes large amounts of brains or capital.
    - ac29 6y ago
      > Almost everyone lost out Yeah, this just isnt true. Every dollar put into the market a year ago has increased in value (broadly speaking, individual investments obviously vary). Being "down from the peak" doesnt matter, what matters is where you are compared to cash (aka, not investing).
SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
The problem here is that the restrictions have been broadly lifted by California and many other states, but Bay Area counties have stricter rules that still forbid manufacturing.
- tenpies 6y ago
  And keep in mind that the State added a "Psychopath CEO wants to endanger workers to pump the stock price" clause after Musk's refusal to comply back in March when he tried to claim this same argument: > Nothing in this Order shall be construed to limit the existing authority of local health officers to establish and implement public health measures within their respective jurisdictions that are more restrictive than, or that otherwise exist in addition to, the public health measures imposed on a statewide basis pursuant to the statewide directives of the State Public Health Officer. From: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5.4.20-EO-N-60-20-text.pdf https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5.4.20-EO-... There is literally no problem other than Musk is clearly lying about Tesla's liquidity and is desperate enough that he needs to produce cars this week. I mean he claims there was $8 BB in cash but is getting loans from China and refusing to pay rents. Something doesn't add up. I'm super curious how this unfolds, especially if he thinks California is up and is now opening a factory in Germany. The meltdown's we'll get from his efforts in Germany are going to be just pure insanity.
Animats 6y ago
Can Elon even make unilateral and rash decisions like this? Probably not. He's not chairman of the board. Robyn M. Denholm is. The board has some strong figures on it, including Larry Ellison and James Murdoch.
BurningFrog 6y ago
Normally you'd assume he's anchored this with his Board before announcing this. Thought with Elon, who knows :)
mlindner 6y ago
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/gm-plans-resume-production-may-18-majority-na-operations https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/gm-plans-resume-produ... GM is also restarting operations.
- aguyfromnb 6y ago
  May 18th, the exact date Alameda County was going to allow Tesla to open until Musk had another hissy fit.
  - Rapzid 6y ago
    Apparently Alameda County was already working/planning on having Tesla resume operations on May 18th as well. But Musk had a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that they had different rules in place than the State(which listed manufacturing as resuming on the 18th prior) and, as he often does, made the situation worse by his rash instincts. It's clear his current instincts, or at least under certain mental states prone to shifting, is that Tesla knows better than Alameda County. Who are they to doubt Tesla's amazing back-to-work plan that worked in China?! Except Musk and Tesla are not in charge of public health. They are not elected officials that are on the line for ensuring a Tesla outbreak doesn't spread to the rest of the county/public. It takes time to for the government to vet plans and coordinate this stuff. The tweet was unnecessary.

rio517 6y ago

Seems like is is trying to get same restrictions as other places in California. And elsewhere.

kitotik 6y ago

Ummm, money?

bilbo0s 6y ago

>Can Elon even make unilateral and rash decisions like this? Investors almost certainly knew what they were signing up for, so, "yes" would be the answer. How Tesla ends is not yet written, but even enterprises with steady, conservative hands on the reins have sputtered.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

jariel 6y ago

1) His factory cannot get moving, due to restrictions, he's using a populist platform to make sure people know it's not his fault, and to put pressure on the county. 2) He's using Twitter a little bit like Trump - saying somewhat inflammatory things, tapping into an emotional vein, possibly garnering support from fanboys, making noise. Twitter it seems, is a place where statements don't have to be fully true or real. It's like an 'emotional landscape' where people can push the buttons of the masses and get away with it. A lot of people in the investor class right now are upset their stocks are falling, they see the pandemic is not as bad as predicted and they want everyone back to work. Many working people feel similarly. But a larger group of people, especially those in difficult conditions, are rightly afraid; the 'meatpacking plants' in various places have had huge covid outbreaks and some deaths, in Canada it's been a serious source of outbreak. There's no reason to believe it won't be the same anywhere else. But Elon is missing something in his rants: if and when the factory does startup, there will be a COVID outbreak on some level and there is a very high chance that a Tesla employee somewhere, somehow will die from COVID. Now it may not be 'his fault' but it won't matter. If Elon is seeing as being unsympathetic and not concerned about his staff - and - someone dies from Covid (one way or another, possibly not even really related to his policy) - then it could blow up and backfire on him in an existential way. CNN: "Elon Musk forces people back to work; 2 dead from Covid" - is the kind of stain that does not come off. Elon needs to spend a lot more time publicly demonstrating empathy and showing materially how he is working protecting his workers.

photoGrant 6y ago
I’m shocked you’re downvoted as you have a level headed opinion that doesn’t polarise and pick objectives. It’s the problem not seen
ac29 6y ago
> A lot of people in the investor class right now are upset their stocks are falling I'm not sure this is entirely true - stocks are worth more than they were last June, way before this crisis started and have trended up over the past month. Maybe this will still be true in 6 months or a year, maybe not - its far too early to say. If anything, it seems the "investor class" thinks there are bargains to be had right now.
- jariel 6y ago
  Almost everyone lost out, and so they are down from the peak, so the bargains are neutral, or rather, they don't have the excess cash for them. Very few had the wherewithal to time it right. But culturally, the business world has an innate paternalistic industriousness. They want to 'get things moving' on a much deeper level. Musk is saying what most business leaders are thinking, right or wrong.
  - perl4ever 6y ago
    The Nasdaq is up for the year. Everybody panicked around March 13th, and the market bottom appears to have been within a week of that. It's been nearly straight up from there. I don't know if Wall Street was right yet, but that was its verdict. Now, it's true that my IRA is down a little, but I'm not really "the investor class". You say "very few had the wherewithal to time it right", but I'd question that, because all it took, in principle, was doing nothing. Not possible for everyone who's unemployed, for instance, but not something that takes large amounts of brains or capital.
  - ac29 6y ago
    > Almost everyone lost out Yeah, this just isnt true. Every dollar put into the market a year ago has increased in value (broadly speaking, individual investments obviously vary). Being "down from the peak" doesnt matter, what matters is where you are compared to cash (aka, not investing).

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago

The problem here is that the restrictions have been broadly lifted by California and many other states, but Bay Area counties have stricter rules that still forbid manufacturing.

tenpies 6y ago
And keep in mind that the State added a "Psychopath CEO wants to endanger workers to pump the stock price" clause after Musk's refusal to comply back in March when he tried to claim this same argument: > Nothing in this Order shall be construed to limit the existing authority of local health officers to establish and implement public health measures within their respective jurisdictions that are more restrictive than, or that otherwise exist in addition to, the public health measures imposed on a statewide basis pursuant to the statewide directives of the State Public Health Officer. From: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5.4.20-EO-N-60-20-text.pdf https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/5.4.20-EO-... There is literally no problem other than Musk is clearly lying about Tesla's liquidity and is desperate enough that he needs to produce cars this week. I mean he claims there was $8 BB in cash but is getting loans from China and refusing to pay rents. Something doesn't add up. I'm super curious how this unfolds, especially if he thinks California is up and is now opening a factory in Germany. The meltdown's we'll get from his efforts in Germany are going to be just pure insanity.

Animats 6y ago

Can Elon even make unilateral and rash decisions like this? Probably not. He's not chairman of the board. Robyn M. Denholm is. The board has some strong figures on it, including Larry Ellison and James Murdoch.

BurningFrog 6y ago

Normally you'd assume he's anchored this with his Board before announcing this. Thought with Elon, who knows :)

mlindner 6y ago

https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/gm-plans-resume-production-may-18-majority-na-operations https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/gm-plans-resume-produ... GM is also restarting operations.

aguyfromnb 6y ago
May 18th, the exact date Alameda County was going to allow Tesla to open until Musk had another hissy fit.
- Rapzid 6y ago
  Apparently Alameda County was already working/planning on having Tesla resume operations on May 18th as well. But Musk had a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that they had different rules in place than the State(which listed manufacturing as resuming on the 18th prior) and, as he often does, made the situation worse by his rash instincts. It's clear his current instincts, or at least under certain mental states prone to shifting, is that Tesla knows better than Alameda County. Who are they to doubt Tesla's amazing back-to-work plan that worked in China?! Except Musk and Tesla are not in charge of public health. They are not elected officials that are on the line for ensuring a Tesla outbreak doesn't spread to the rest of the county/public. It takes time to for the government to vet plans and coordinate this stuff. The tweet was unnecessary.