Then you'd make a poor CEO. EM has a responsibility to shareholders, employees and their families. That requires pragmatism.
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Elon Musk to advise Trump administration
- Thread starter Barklikeadog
- Start date
Then you'd make a poor CEO. EM has a responsibility to shareholders, employees and their families. That requires pragmatism.
Unless they're presidential daily briefings that say bad things about Russia.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
I say he understands pitting people against each other and the art of vagueness, double-talk, and bull-sh1tting.
Those are certainly valuable skills that you require when wheeling and dealing.
Pretty ironic that we're talking about Musk - the one CEO who doesn't appear at least to be willing to do anything to be successful or do things that would appear to be maximally profitable just because he could - rather he seems to have some integrity and conscience. Standard CEO's OTOH, like most business owners/managers, are quite stupid (and at least quasi-sociopaths); and by pragmatic you just mean doing things that are easy and ostensibly profitable. That's not hard. You need to be a fair bit smarter to have firm ethics and honesty and be successful. Dealing with maximum-scumbag trump isn't in the realm of honesty or integrity. Tesla would get along just fine if Musk ignored him - in fact probably better. Trump, being a vindictive egomaniac however, could retaliate. So that might be your only point - maybe Musk should be pragmatic and just appease.
No, they're not required at all. They are, however, used by sociopaths regularly when "wheeling and dealing".
dhcp
Member
I read that trump wants to get rid of lots of the government run space stuff and move to services like Space-X, which would make sense that he wants to keep Elon nearby. Hopefully, some of the tit-for-tat can trickle down to Tesla.
I think the average 'Merican doesn't even think that Tesla is an American car - because it's not from Detroit it must be foreign and if expensive, probably European.
...those stupid Europeans with their "healthcare and education for everyone" commie attitudes. Sheesh. Nobody wants that.
I think the average 'Merican doesn't even think that Tesla is an American car - because it's not from Detroit it must be foreign and if expensive, probably European.
...those stupid Europeans with their "healthcare and education for everyone" commie attitudes. Sheesh. Nobody wants that.
hockeythug
Active Member
Blah Blah Blah. Same old whine. Anything new to share with the class?
Well... when deal with large sums, you don't get to the best outcome by smiling and saying please. Call it sociopathy if you wish. Others would call it standard negotiation tactics.
The only thing that outweighs my contempt for Trump is my respect for Elon. I hope something good comes of this.
Well... you have rather bitter perspective on things. If you think that most CEOs and business owners are stupid, then you've not spent a lot of time in their company. Running a successful business is incredibly difficult. And yes it involves making some difficult decisions that some people won't like. I don't judge until I've had a chance to walk a mile in somebody else's shoes.
Being pragmatic does not imply that you behave unethically, or compromise your principles. In Tesla's case it would mean that they have to work with the administration in a way that meets the long term corporate goals. And that may mean some compromise. Tesla is too big of a target for to simply ignore the administration - especially when they have the ear of big auto and big oil. Simply ignoring and crapping all over Trump, as you suggest, would be utterly stupid. And Elon isn't stupid.
It absolutely implies compromising principles. Doing stuff you don't want to do is the key element of pragmatism.
It's why politicians tend to be pragmatists and why pragmatists can be so dangerous.
Sure. Two novel concepts for you.
- Example: calling a serial killer a reprehensible person isn't whining.
- Tolerance doesn't include tolerating intolerance.
No... it implies defining your targets and doing what is required to get the best possible outcome it relation to those targets. Your targets can including as many high ideals as you wish. Being unwilling to compromise short term (within limits of course), to get a lesser result is just stupid.
In Tesla's case, the targets include displacement of fossil fuels. If your choices are:
a) to keep peace with Trump, don't make a big stink, and to try to sway him when possible in a way to promote Tesla long term.
b) stomp all over the place shouting about how he's an ass, and berating everybody in his administration.
The pragmatist chooses a at the outset. And if it appears, after time, that there is nothing to be gained then you switch.
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"Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, will “meet with the president frequently” and offer their expertise to Trump as part of his Strategic and Policy Forum, Trump officials said."
Elon Musk and the chief executive of Uber are now advising Donald Trump
Elon Musk and the chief executive of Uber are now advising Donald Trump
Canuck
Well-Known Member
You sound like a Republican telling Obama how to deal with Castro. You're so far left, you've met the right wing.
Most business owners/managers are quite stupid and quasi-sociopath? And you're Canadian and anti-Trump? Yikes, I wish I didn't share those last two characteristics with you. You're the Taliban of the left!
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Canuck
Well-Known Member
Trump is 50% of that equation. You expect us to think he will engage Elon on a deep or even intellectual level that we should be discussing here?
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