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Silicon Valley billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg offered dueling views on blocking measures designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus on Wednesday, with Facebook’s Zuckerberg backing the measures while Tesla’s Musk condemned them as undemocratic.
Elon Musk, left, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Photo: AFP
Musk, who has often made open and even incendiary comments in conference calls and on Twitter, told analysts of Tesla Inc’s earnings call that it was “fascist” to say that people cannot leave their homes.
“This is not democratic, this is not freedom. Give people back their damn freedom,” said Musk.
Zuckerberg, on the other hand, in comments on Facebook’s own profit calls, expressed concern about easing the blockade measure, saying the economic consequences of the pandemic would last longer than people currently expect.
“I am concerned that reopening certain locations too quickly before infection rates have dropped to very low levels will almost guarantee future outbreaks and worse long-term health and economic outcomes,” he said.
Both companies are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which was the first to try to stem the spread of the virus, and the seven counties in the region issued a joint shelter order in place before California issued a state order.
Electric car maker Tesla and social media network Facebook have had different experiences under the blockade.
Tesla initially resisted efforts by California authorities to close its plant in the Bay Area under closure, until it agreed on March 19 to suspend production. Still, Tesla reported its third consecutive profitable quarter on Wednesday.
Facebook, the world’s largest social network, said on Wednesday that usage increased during the first quarter amid widespread blockades, although advertising revenue fell in March.
Musk wasted no words in criticizing the blocks.
“So, the extension of the shelter in place or, frankly, I would call it, forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights, in my opinion, breaking people’s freedoms in horrible and wrong ways and not why people came to the United States or built this country, “Musk said, vowing to underscore his point.
“It will cause great harm, not just to Tesla, but to any company. And while Tesla will withstand the storm, there are many small companies that will not.”
Zuckerberg and Musk, who is also CEO of the SpaceX rocket company, have had differences in the past. In 2017, a war of words broke out between the duo over whether robots would be smart enough to kill their human creators.
“I have spoken to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited,” Musk tweeted at the time about Zuckerberg, who downplayed Musk’s warnings about the danger of artificial intelligence.
In May 2018, Musk made waves on another earnings call when he declined to answer analyst questions, saying “dull, dull questions aren’t great.”
He later apologized for his comments.
– Reuters
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