Musk is smart, but demagogue – VG

Tesla founder Elon Musk visited Norway. Epistaxis greeted with admiration. It’s embarrassing.

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Rich and smart men like Elon Musk get away with most things. Because they are rich and smart. Practically no one cares about their excesses, as long as they can shine at conferences. Or it promises to gain opportunities or access to new technology or markets.

Or just a chance to take a selfie, interview or exclusive photos. With “The World’s Greatest Influencer”.

As TV2 news reported repeatedly during his live broadcast from outside the Convention Hotel at the ONS Energy Show in Stavanger on Monday.

There was a catcher somewhere, and the hope was to get a word with him, at least some pictures. Musk himself had won a little bit of Norway with his great presence.

But Musk never showed up at the door. He invited publisher Erling Cage and Bellona director Frederic Hauge and Christian Edem to his room. There they had a beer and talked about “boy things”.

“I love Norway”

What the Norwegians thought about the billionaire who highlighted us as the best case on vg.no:

“- genius”.

“I love Norway,” the Tesla founder said himself as he allowed himself to give an interview on the podium at a conference in Stavanger.

Thank God.

Urgent messages rang out around the building, Musk: “Love Norway.”

On the front page of Aftenposten the next day, Musk smiles widely: “I was always glad to be in Norway.” Inside the newspaper, a two-page report, “The world’s richest thanks to Norway’s support.”

Of course he loves Norway. Of course he is grateful.

Because here, nobody asks him tough questions. Nobody makes it a little uncomfortable for a prima donna. You don’t do it with the guests, at the same time he probably felt like he came back to “home”.

tesla house. In Norway most Tesla sells per capita. Norway is his playground. It is clear that the love relationship is reciprocal.

missing facts

Naturally, Elon Musk would be present at a conference on energy. It is one of the biggest providers of hypotheses in the debate about sustainability and the transition to renewable energy.

It is also clear that his visit to Norway is a matter for the press. They had a meeting with the guy for just over four minutes when he arrived at the hotel. Then the journalists had time to ask standard questions and received standard answers about Tesla, renewable energy, oil and gas.

It was Musk himself who brought children to the stage – that the world needed more children. It’s pure news.

Aftenposten Musk naturally quotes “Make more babies!” – He adds that he himself has nine sons. Reportage is enriched with fact boxes.

But fact boxes are superficial. Like the meeting of the Norwegians with the powerful American.

Excessive Trampling and Stuff

Factboxes were supposed to tell us how Elon Musk built his empire.

On the appearance of 70 thousand workers, he is known to be poorly treated. With a company convicted of racism.

It’s only on social media Online role. But with the ability to lower or double a company’s stock price, he should consider tweeting about it.

List of transgressions and absurdities It’s a bad year.

He sometimes acted like a mob towards dissidents. Because it is “too big to fail”. Too rich and smart to care about criticism.

Since years Warnings abounded about miserable working conditions No Norwegian, with or without Tesla, was willing to serve under him.

exploit workers

In the new Chinese factory there have been reports of Workers sleep while working 12 hours a day, six days a week.

At the main plant in Fremont, California, workers feared for their lives when they became Had to go back to work in the center of the aura. without complying with covid restrictions.

Teslas cars had to be made, no matter what.

A few years ago, there were reports of workers resting from overwork at the same factory. Within three years, the ambulance came and assembled sick workers 100 times.

Elon Musk makes a fortune from exploiting his workers. It prevents them from organizing. His company is the only auto company in the United States that has non-union workers.

billionaire one An outspoken critic of unions. and has Monitor employees on social media To reveal access to trade unions.

Racism and harassment

Tesla I was convicted of racism. company I had to pay a former employee compensation of NOK 1.2 billion.

Dark-skinned workers have accused Elon Musk for years of gross and systematic racism. They refer to the plant as “the farm” and refer to themselves as slaves. It was systematically overrun, subjected to elemental language and graphics and made to do the heaviest of tasks.

Now California has taken matters into its own hands and File a lawsuit against Tesla.

Elon Musk has also been convicted threats to employees who wanted to form a guild.

In addition, there is a larger trial pending sexual harassment In the company.

More than fast cars

Is Musk a genius? surely.

He is one of the most important innovators of history. Tesla was crucial to the switch to electric cars. During starlink He gave Ukrainians access to the Internet when the war began. Tesla Energy is leading the way in pioneering green energy development.

But is the founder of Tesla a decent employer? barely.

Definitely mob.

Elon Musk faces little opposition. The Norwegian visit is an example of this. It can continue like this as long as the hair is ironed.

That’s why he loves Norway. But do we need to love him again as much?