Tech

Elon Musk Complaints About Harassment, Criticizes Democrats Threatening Tesla Brand: Report


Elon Musk has made a name for himself and Tesla by breaking the rules, but the billionaire’s latest comments about politics and sexual harassment claims against him he says are untrue. may damage the brand in the eyes of some car owners and employees.

Musk on Thursday refuse A Business Insider report that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016, called the person making the claim a liar.

Yesterday, Tesla executives, amid a controversial attempt to buy Twittersaid he would now vote Republican instead of Democrat and called Democrats a “party of division and hatred.”

This week, Tesla was also removed from the widely watched S&P 500 ESG Index, which an index executive said was due to issues including racist statements within the company and accidents. accidents involving their vehicles.

Musk responded by calling such ratings around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues a “scam”, and questioned how the index could drop a electric car companies while adding oil and gas producers.

Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment.

While Musk has made headlines before – once calling a critic a “scam” on Twitter – the latest controversies have raised questions about his outspokenness. Does he reduce his likability? And – given Musk is so attached to Tesla – whether that will hurt the automaker’s sales, especially in California.

The left-leaning state is Tesla’s biggest market, according to Experian data, accounting for nearly 40% of the company’s total US retail registrations last year. Tesla sales in California are up nearly 70% for the year, and it accounts for 6.5% of all vehicles in the state, according to the California Association of New Auto Dealers.

#BoycottTesla was trending on Twitter on Friday, and several people announced that they were canceling their car orders.

“In the past, I admired him for working to build a transformative green business in the use of energy. But sadly he became divided as an attention seeker. and I no longer trust him to be dedicated to the quality of his products. I’ll cancel my Tesla order,” said J Yeh, a Twitter user who describes himself as a living lawyer. in several cities, including Los Angeles, said.

“You’ve lost a potential customer,” said Twitter user Ute Bauer from Germany, adding in German: “For anyone reading this, cancel your order. “

Reuters could not confirm if any Tesla orders had been cancelled.

Many institutional investors may be on Musk’s side no matter what happens to the company’s strong performance, but that doesn’t mean some aren’t disappointed.

“They’re doing a lot of good,” said Taylor Ogan, CEO of Snow Bull Capital, which owns Tesla stock. “It’s disappointing that that’s been tainted by Elon Musk’s antics. Elon Musk is the best thing for Tesla and the worst thing for Tesla.”

One Tesla employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration that Musk’s efforts outside of Tesla appear to be hurting the automaker’s stock. “The company needs to do something about it,” he said.

On Friday, Tesla shares fell nearly 9%, knocking some $66 billion (about Rs 5,12,229 crore) off Tesla’s stock market value and sending the stock to its lowest level since August. last year, with analysts calling the “risk of distraction” from the Deal on Twitter. Musk assured everyone on Thursday that Tesla was always on his mind.

John Smith, a former corporate vice president at GM who runs global product planning, said if the discussion around water coolers at work focused on sexual harassment allegations against Musk than Tesla products.

Tesla and SpaceX Jason Stomel, founder of tech talent agency Cadre, said employees can also become “a bit frustrated and angry” because of Musk’s anti-Democratic comments when staffing the tech company in California tend to be more liberal.

Bill Nelson, administrator of NASAThe company relies on Musk’s SpaceX to send its astronauts to space, telling Reuters on Thursday that Musk has a strong team of directors at the spacecraft maker and the agency’s partnerships. with the company “without a hitch”.

And Musk still has plenty of fans online. Twitter user @JVega103 said he is a Republican, owns a Tesla and just signed up for Tesla solar panels. “Thanks for all you do,” the user tweeted.

That has some industry observers wondering if Musk and Tesla will simply shake off these latest controversies, as they have in the past.

Northwestern University professor Erik Qualman said: “Is Elon Musk crazy now, or crazy as a fox?” As Musk himself on ‘Saturday Night Live’ famously said, ‘What, you think I would normal? “

© Thomson Reuters 2022




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