Is Elon Musk a Fraud?
Deconstructed
The Intercept
4.8 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 14 May 2020
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Over the weekend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to voice his frustrations about the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown in Alameda County, California. The billionaire entrepreneur threatened that he would take his auto factory to another state if it was not allowed to reopen immediately. On Monday he announced that he would be resuming production at the facility in contravention of the lockdown. By Wednesday morning, the county had caved to Musk, announcing that his factory would be allowed to resume production under government supervision. After Musk’s initial tweet threatening to leave the state, California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez took to Twitter herself, saying succinctly, “F*ck Elon Musk.” She added: “So much of the clash our state is experiencing with the tech/Silicon Valley companies is of our own making. We let gig companies violate labor laws for over a decade. We subsidized Tesla as they operated with severe safety issues & actively union busted. They got used to it… It’s time that all companies, no matter how cool, abide by the same laws.”
Lorena Gonzalez discusses the situation with Musk and Tesla. Then, tech and labor reporter Jack Crosbie joins Mehdi to give the backstory on the cultish billionaire.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | If Elon Musk is listening to this, what message do you have for him personally apart from FU? |
| 0:05.0 | I just would say there are countless people that are working for him who are putting their families at risk so that he can become richer. |
| 0:14.0 | And those people matter too. |
| 0:22.0 | Welcome to Deconstructed, I'm Mehdi Hussam. |
| 0:25.0 | As he reopens his car factory against the advice of local officials in California, |
| 0:29.0 | is Elon Musk the man behind Tesla, SpaceX, the boring company? |
| 0:33.0 | Is he a tech genius, the real-life Tony Stark, a bold savior of humanity, |
| 0:38.0 | or is he a bit of a fraud, a grifter, a danger to public health? |
| 0:43.0 | Here's this billionaire who's saying, I don't like the rules, I'm not going to play by them, |
| 0:48.0 | or I'm going to leave, and it's just supremely irritating to see somebody show such privilege. |
| 0:56.0 | I'll speak to the California Assemblywoman who went after Musk on Twitter, |
| 1:00.0 | and a reporter who says the Tesla boss turned him into a socialist. |
| 1:04.0 | So, on today's show, what is the deal with multi-billionaire Elon Musk? |
| 1:12.0 | I've never been a fan of Elon Musk, never bought the stick. |
| 1:16.0 | Elon Musk is a genius, a crazy genius no doubt. |
| 1:19.0 | Is Elon Musk a genius? |
| 1:21.0 | Elon Musk is a genius. |
| 1:23.0 | President Trump calling Elon Musk a genius. |
| 1:26.0 | CEO Elon Musk is a true visionary. |
| 1:28.0 | Is he a true visionary? He is an absolute visionary. |
| 1:31.0 | The Atlantic, asking whether Musk is the greatest living inventor. |
| 1:35.0 | Elon Musk is possibly the greatest living inventor. |
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