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OROn Monday, May 11, Elon Musk attempted to become a hero in the anti-public health movement when he dared authorities to arrest him for restarting production at the Tesla car factory in Northern California, defying the local refugee order. in the place. . Neither Musk nor anyone else has been arrested, but his action has put state and local officials in a difficult position to determine whether coronavirus restrictions should be applied against a litigating billionaire who is also a major employer.
On Tuesday, his cause garnered the support of another executive with a hyperactive Twitter account: Donald Trump. “California should allow Tesla and @elonmusk to open the plant, NOW,” said the president. tweeted Tuesday in the morning. “It can be done quickly and safely!”
How do we get here? Here’s a handy timeline of what led to Musk collapse may:
6th of March
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On the day that confirmed global cases of Covid-19 exceed 100,000, Musk states on Twitter: “The coronavirus panic is silly.” The tweet sets the tone for Musk’s approach to the deadly pandemic, repeatedly minimizing the risk of the virus and opposing public health measures.
Elon musk
(@Elon Musk)Coronavirus panic is silly
March 11th
March 16
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Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area become the first locations in the United States to order all non-essential businesses to close and require residents to shelter in place. Included in the coordinated public health order is Alameda County, home to the only Tesla automobile factory in the United States, in the city of Fremont.
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Musk sends an email to his employees to tell them that he plans to continue working, noting that he does not plan to close the factory.
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On Twitter, Musk promotes Chloroquine, an unproven treatment for Covid-19 that would become a favorite of Fox News and Trump before being largely abandoned amid reports of dangerous heart side effects.
March 17
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Alameda County Sheriff’s Office announces that Tesla is not an essential business, and therefore can only maintain “minimal basic operations” under the public health order. Tesla does not comply.
March 18th
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Musk tweets that Tesla will manufacture fans “if there is a shortage”. There is no indication that Tesla has taken any steps to do so, though Musk tweets about having a “long engineering discussion” with medical device maker Medtronic on March 21.
March, 19
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Under pressure from local officials, Tesla agrees to halt production at its Fremont factory before March 23, a week after the public health order.
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On Twitter, Musk predicts that there will be “probably close to zero new cases” of Covid-19 in the United States by the end of April. He too falsely claims that children are “essentially immune” to the virus.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom issues a state order for shelter in place.
23 of March
March 31st
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Musk tweets a offer to send “FDA approved ventilators” to hospitals. The devices turn out to be BiPap machines, which are commonly used to treat sleep apnea, rather than the much more expensive mechanical ventilators that hospitals use to intubate critically ill patients.
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Bay Area officials extend their refugee orders there until May 3.
April 26
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Musk promotes a YouTube video of two California doctors using misleading statistics to argue against shelter-in-place orders. YouTube deletes video for promoting harmful misinformation, and doctors “condemn jointly and emphatically[ed]”By the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.
April 27
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Bay Area officials again extend their refuge orders in place, this time until the end of May. Tesla is forced to suspend plans to reopen its plant on May 4.
28th of April
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Musk adopts anti-blocker protesters’ rhetoric in a Twitter tirade late at night, tweeting, “FREE AMERICA NOW!” And “Give people back their freedom!” It also falsely describes shelter-in-place restrictions as “de facto house arrest.”
April 29
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Musk unleashed another complaint during Tesla’s quarterly earnings call with investors, declaring the public health measures “fascist” and demanding: “Give people back their damn freedom.”
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Tesla exceeds analyst expectations for the quarter, offering its third consecutive quarterly profit despite major disruptions to the coronavirus.
May 1
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Another Musk Twitter tirade erases approximately $ 13 billion of Tesla’s market value, after he declares that he plans to sell “almost all physical possessions,” including his homes, and then believes that Tesla’s stock price is “too tall”. Tesla’s stock price falls approximately 9% after tweets.
Elon musk
(@Elon Musk)Tesla’s share price is too high
May 4th
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Musk’s partner, Claire Boucher, a musician who acts like Grimes, gives birth to the couple’s first child, a son named X Æ A-12.
May 7th
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Newsom announces new rules to allow some nonessential companies, including some manufacturers, to reopen in California on May 8. It also says that local rules supersede state rules, if they are stricter.
May 8
May 9
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Tesla sues Alameda County, alleging that the county’s continuing refugee order is unconstitutional.
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On Twitter, Musk states that Tesla “will now move its headquarters and future programs to Texas / Nevada immediately” and threatens to stop manufacturing in Fremont. Musk also attacks local public health official Dr. Erica Pan, calling her “unelected and ignorant.”
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County officials say they have been working with Tesla on a safety plan to allow the factory to reopen.
May 11
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Tesla resumes production at the Fremont factory in defiance of the public health order. Musk tweets: “If someone is arrested, I ask that it be just me.”
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Alameda County officials tell Tesla that he is violating the public health order and say they expect him to “comply without further compliance measures.”
May 12
Elon musk
(@Elon Musk)Thank you!
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