I cancelled my Model Y AWD order today. I was all registered to pay in cash for my blue AWD. But Musk's re-opening the Fremont plant in deliberate open defiance of the Alameda County government was the final straw for me.
Whether we should re-open our economy sooner or later is a legitimate debate. But unfortunately, this is a moment when security guards are getting shot for asking shoppers to wear masks and armed protestors are blockading government building and posting on Facebook about how they want to kill the governor of Michigan. Clearly, the rhetoric over Covid-19 is getting way out of control.
By crying "fascism" in public forums and flouting government regulations in some misguided, deliberate effort to appear tough, Musk is adding more fuel to the fire: more senseless politicization of the pandemic, more hyperbolic rhetoric that many Americans view as a justification for violence.
The Alameda County government was acting in good faith, and we have no reason not to believe their representative, who said that a deal for re-opening was just days from being reached. There was no reason for Musk to undermine these discussions by acting like such a jackass--unless an infantile public relations stunt is more important to him than all else.
I hope Musk comes to his senses and realizes why large company CEOs avoid this kind of stupid grandstanding. Amid a global pandemic, Musk's "maverick entrepreneur" shtick is less charming than dangerous, and it is putting American lives at risk.
Whether we should re-open our economy sooner or later is a legitimate debate. But unfortunately, this is a moment when security guards are getting shot for asking shoppers to wear masks and armed protestors are blockading government building and posting on Facebook about how they want to kill the governor of Michigan. Clearly, the rhetoric over Covid-19 is getting way out of control.
By crying "fascism" in public forums and flouting government regulations in some misguided, deliberate effort to appear tough, Musk is adding more fuel to the fire: more senseless politicization of the pandemic, more hyperbolic rhetoric that many Americans view as a justification for violence.
The Alameda County government was acting in good faith, and we have no reason not to believe their representative, who said that a deal for re-opening was just days from being reached. There was no reason for Musk to undermine these discussions by acting like such a jackass--unless an infantile public relations stunt is more important to him than all else.
I hope Musk comes to his senses and realizes why large company CEOs avoid this kind of stupid grandstanding. Amid a global pandemic, Musk's "maverick entrepreneur" shtick is less charming than dangerous, and it is putting American lives at risk.
