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Elon Musk is not your conventional CEO content with conventional ways of doing things. No. That is not his style, some say. And yet, his rather eccentric style has earned him fans and critics alike, which often gets him and his company in big trouble. Perhaps it cannot be denied that there are streaks of genius in the way the 48-year-old man behaves himself and his business practices, yet has a tendency to exasperate most people through his, for lack of a better adjective, antics.
Musk, co-founder and CEO of the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, is now blatantly courting the arrest after arguing and yelling why Tesla’s Fremont, California facility cannot resume operations. The facility was one of the last to suspend work in the region after Covid-19-related guidelines halted normal life. The war of words had begun long before that.
Here’s a look at how Musk and the authorities have clashed over the issue in the past few weeks and counting:
March 7, 2020: While the world was searching for Covid-19, Musk, known for firing salvoes from his Twitter account, went to the microblogging site to report the reaction to the pandemic. “The coronavirus panic is silly,” he wrote.
Musk was widely criticized for minimizing the reaction to the pandemic, especially since thousands of people had died from Covid-19 worldwide even by then. (Read more here)
March 8: Not known to back down from a fight, or his claims, Musk tried to explain what he meant when he called panic silly. “The virality of C19 is exaggerated due to the combination of the date of diagnosis with the date of contraction; the excessively exaggerated exponential growth, which is never really what happens. Keep extrapolating; the virus will exceed the mass of the known universe” , said. (Read more here)
March 13: Musk, in an email to Tesla employees, once again downplays the Covid-19 threat. US media reported that the CEO in the letter stated that he did not believe the disease would reach the top 100 health risks in the country and that more people died from car accidents than those who would die from Covid-19. He is brutally trolled once again for comparing car accidents to a viral infection and for making a comparison without clear estimates based on data.
March 13-18: Calls to shutdown operations at Tesla’s Fremont plant build momentum to keep employees safe. Forbes reported that there are 15,000 full-time and contract employees who report to work every day, in addition to several dozen robots.
March 18th: A spokesman for the county sheriff’s office in Alameda County, where the factory is located, says Tesla cannot function normally in the prevailing situation. A three-week blockade in the San Francisco Bay Area goes into effect at approximately the same time. (Read more here)
Musk argues that not a single employee at the facility has tested positive for Covid-19.
March, 19: Tesla agrees to reduce the number of employees inside the factory each day and take active measures to help control the spread of Covid-19. “We were told that they had gone from about 10,000 individual employees to about 2,500. It seems to me that they could very well continue to make cars. We continue to insist that they should move to minimal basic operations, if they are still making cars,” said the same spokesman mentioned earlier by Reuters. . (Full report here)
While essential services remained open in California, many questioned whether the operation of Tesla’s facilities meant that making automobiles also qualifies as an essential service. (Full report here)
March 20: Tesla agrees to temporarily close its California and New York facilities after facing massive levels of criticism and criticism. The Fremont plant has officially suspended work since March 23.
April 26 After weeks of calm, reports emerge that Tesla plans to call some of its employees to the Fremont facility. The refugee order had been extended until May 3, so reports reignited debate over whether Tesla can be allowed to go on a retreat. (Full report here)
28th of April: Tesla withdraws from its reported plans to retire some of its employees to the assembly plant. (Read more here)
April 29: Musk returns to Twitter. He goes on to describe the confinement as “fascist” and calls for “restoring democracy”.
“To say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist. This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their damn freedom!” He reportedly stated. (Full report here)
He also reportedly said the blockade was a “serious risk” to companies.
May 1: Musk returns to Twitter and this time, he claims that Tesla’s share prices are too high. He also reports that he would be selling most of his possessions. While these may not have had a direct link to developments related to Covid-19, Tesla’s market value dropped by as much as $ 14 billion. Musk’s stake in the company is estimated to have dropped by $ 3 billion. (Full report here)
May 8: Musk, in a letter to employees, quotes California Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he would allow manufacturers in parts of the state to resume operations. Tesla is reportedly preparing to resume work only to have local authorities pour water over the plans again. “We have not said it is appropriate to move forward,” said Erica Pan, Alameda County health officer. (Full report here)
May 9: Musk declares war on California County and declares that Tesla will sue him for blocking reopening plans. The CEO further claims that Tesla would decide whether to continue producing cars in Fremont, California, based on how it is handled in the future. (Full report here)
“Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County right away. Alameda’s unelected and ignorant ‘interim health officer’ is acting against the Governor, the President, our constitutional freedoms; just common sense!” Musk tweeted.
Fremont Mayor Lily Mei says Fremont is encouraging the county to “engage with local businesses to develop acceptable guidelines to reopen our local economy.”
May 11: Musk, in an act of apparent defiance, unilaterally announces that the Fremont plant will reopen. “Tesla is restarting production today against the Alameda County rules. I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it be just me,” he tweeted.
How local authorities will react to the announcement remains to be seen, but there are clear indications that the fight between Musk and them has taken several twists and turns, and remains with no end in sight.
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