In a virtual interview with Qatar Economic Forum, Elon Musk lost his cool when asked about the series of protests that his company Tesla has been facing. It is not news that Tesla showrooms have been vandalized nationwide and Musk has suffered significant loss over those protests as well.
Musk’s attitude towards the ones protesting appeared to be stern as he said, “We’re coming for you.” He was also asked if he believed that his association with Donald Trump and his involvement with the American government somehow fueled the protests, Musk said, “I did what needed to be done.”
He then added, “I’m not somebody who has ever committed violence. And yet, massive violence was committed against my companies, and massive violence was threatened against me.”
It should be noted here that Musk had his own department, named, Department of Government Efficiency at the White House and with Trump’s approval, his department made various budget cuts and also caused massive layoffs in the federal departments.
This naturally resulted in resentment in federal employees though both Trump and Musk mentioned that all the cuts were done to save the tax payers’ money and prepare America for a better economic future. However, many important departments were slashed and the ones which did not align with Trump and Musk’s outlook were on the top of the list, regardless of what work those departments did.
Talking about the protesters in the same interview, Musk said, “Who are these people? Why would they do that? How wrong can they be? They’re on the wrong side of history. And that’s an evil thing to do. To go and damage some poor innocent person’s car. To threaten to kill me. What’s wrong with these people? I’ve not harmed anyone.”
He then added, “Something needs to be done about them. And a number of them are going to prison. And they deserve it. And more will. Those people will go to prison, and the people who funded them and organized them will also go to prison.” By this time he was so enraged that he pointed at the screen and concluded his rant with “Don’t worry, we’re coming for you.”
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It should be noted here that Musk’s political career is indeed a major factor contributing to the decline of Tesla’s sales along with the vandalism that Tesla showrooms and cars have been facing. Since he joined Trump’s government and came clean about his political beliefs, Tesla seems to have taken the hit.
However, Donald Trump has remained in favor of Musk. He even brought one Tesla back in March to show his solidarity to the billionaire although the American President appeared to be unable to drive the car himself. Trump also addressed the vandalism that Tesla was facing and said that the protesters will “go through hell.”
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Musk also talked about his political career in the same interview, mentioning that he would now spend less time in politics. When asked about the reason, Musk said, “I think I’ve done enough. If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don’t currently see a reason.”
It remains unclear if Musk has been forced to back off from politics because of how it was affecting Tesla or if he indeed had enough of it. Whatever the reason maybe, it now remains to be seen whether it affects Tesla’s reputation and sales positively or negatively.
Scroll down to see some images of Elon Musk.
Elon Musk visited the White House with his son X.
Elon Musk had been actively involved with the Donald Trump government.
