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| Elon Musk Unleashed Again | Elon Musk Unleashed Again |
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| How do you solve a problem like a tweet-storming Elon Musk? | How do you solve a problem like a tweet-storming Elon Musk? |
| Memo to the officials of Alameda County in Northern California: You don’t. | Memo to the officials of Alameda County in Northern California: You don’t. |
| Of course, hindsight is 20-20, as the county officials have found in a high-profile tussle this week with Mr. Musk, the famous, and occasionally infamous, entrepreneur known for electric cars, space rockets, tunnel digging and creative baby-naming. | Of course, hindsight is 20-20, as the county officials have found in a high-profile tussle this week with Mr. Musk, the famous, and occasionally infamous, entrepreneur known for electric cars, space rockets, tunnel digging and creative baby-naming. |
| And, most of all, for tweet-baiting, which Mr. Musk used to great effect while clashing with local officials over the timing and terms of reopening of his Tesla factory in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Fremont. Mr. Musk closed the plant after shelter-in-place rules were put in place in March (after initially defying orders). | And, most of all, for tweet-baiting, which Mr. Musk used to great effect while clashing with local officials over the timing and terms of reopening of his Tesla factory in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Fremont. Mr. Musk closed the plant after shelter-in-place rules were put in place in March (after initially defying orders). |
| But now Mr. Musk has apparently had enough. He filed a lawsuit and threatened to move operations and 10,000 jobs out of state, even as several reports indicated that he had restarted production at the plant over the weekend, flouting the rules and attracting the ire of the local government. | But now Mr. Musk has apparently had enough. He filed a lawsuit and threatened to move operations and 10,000 jobs out of state, even as several reports indicated that he had restarted production at the plant over the weekend, flouting the rules and attracting the ire of the local government. |
| Frustrated with negotiations, Mr. Musk offered himself as tribute to health officials, who said they were concerned about the health safety of workers. | Frustrated with negotiations, Mr. Musk offered himself as tribute to health officials, who said they were concerned about the health safety of workers. |
| “I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me,” he tweeted rather extravagantly, although, in fact, there was no local sheriff with cuffs breaking down the doors. | “I will be on the line with everyone else. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me,” he tweeted rather extravagantly, although, in fact, there was no local sheriff with cuffs breaking down the doors. |
| No matter — it was must-see Twitter, a perfect illustration of our twitchy and angry age. But well before President Trump upped the game, noisy gauntlet-throwing on social media was one of Mr. Musk’s signature moves, along with a dollop of drama, a healthy serving of high dudgeon and, every now and again, a messy meltdown. | No matter — it was must-see Twitter, a perfect illustration of our twitchy and angry age. But well before President Trump upped the game, noisy gauntlet-throwing on social media was one of Mr. Musk’s signature moves, along with a dollop of drama, a healthy serving of high dudgeon and, every now and again, a messy meltdown. |
| There is no question that Mr. Musk is the most emotional and raw of the chief executives of the digital age, which is why I called him the “id of tech” two years ago. At the time, he was in yet another kerfuffle over something: There was a submarine, and maybe some weed, but who knows? | There is no question that Mr. Musk is the most emotional and raw of the chief executives of the digital age, which is why I called him the “id of tech” two years ago. At the time, he was in yet another kerfuffle over something: There was a submarine, and maybe some weed, but who knows? |
| While Mr. Musk’s behavior seemed crazy to some, I disagreed. He was not as mad as it appeared. I wrote: “Not, at least, in my various encounters with him over nearly two decades — including recently — in which he has been alternately funny, rude, compelling, obnoxious, accessible, easy to deal with, hard to deal with, always on, outspoken to a fault even when he might be at fault, angry, charming, intense and also strikingly confident. Which is a long way of saying deeply human, with all the positive and negative characteristics that suggests.” | |
| And, as is the case for most clever people, what he does is also completely calculated. So, another reason not to be surprised this time: His work was again interrupted. Reacting in real time to his more than 33 million Twitter followers, Mr. Musk has been in true form as the coronavirus crisis has escalated — especially when it began to hurt his business. | And, as is the case for most clever people, what he does is also completely calculated. So, another reason not to be surprised this time: His work was again interrupted. Reacting in real time to his more than 33 million Twitter followers, Mr. Musk has been in true form as the coronavirus crisis has escalated — especially when it began to hurt his business. |
| Sometimes it’s been in unfortunate ways. Back in March, he tweeted that the “coronavirus panic is dumb” and then recommended the possible use of anti-malarial drug chloroquine, which has been promoted by Mr. Trump and some Fox News hosts, saying it was “maybe better than nothing.” (As it has turned out, some recent studies have shown it might be worse than nothing.) | Sometimes it’s been in unfortunate ways. Back in March, he tweeted that the “coronavirus panic is dumb” and then recommended the possible use of anti-malarial drug chloroquine, which has been promoted by Mr. Trump and some Fox News hosts, saying it was “maybe better than nothing.” (As it has turned out, some recent studies have shown it might be worse than nothing.) |
| He tweeted out a video of two doctors whose claims about coronavirus caused it to be removed from the platform. He tweeted that the price of Tesla stock was too high, which caused it to drop and may or may not have been a violation of his agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to stop tweeting about his business. | He tweeted out a video of two doctors whose claims about coronavirus caused it to be removed from the platform. He tweeted that the price of Tesla stock was too high, which caused it to drop and may or may not have been a violation of his agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to stop tweeting about his business. |
| And, perhaps most memorably, Mr. Musk tweeted “FREE AMERICA NOW,” which got right to his point about the agony of the closing of businesses like his. That language seemed to put him squarely in the Trump camp, which I believe he was doing as an elaborate burn on his critics. | And, perhaps most memorably, Mr. Musk tweeted “FREE AMERICA NOW,” which got right to his point about the agony of the closing of businesses like his. That language seemed to put him squarely in the Trump camp, which I believe he was doing as an elaborate burn on his critics. |
| Mr. Musk is nothing if not a performer, tossing around accusations of government fascism and lack of freedom as part of what feels like very storm-the-barricades signaling. But let’s be clear: His only goal — as always — is to keep building those cars. It’s almost like a religion to him, resulting in his self-righteousness and over-the-top indignation. | Mr. Musk is nothing if not a performer, tossing around accusations of government fascism and lack of freedom as part of what feels like very storm-the-barricades signaling. But let’s be clear: His only goal — as always — is to keep building those cars. It’s almost like a religion to him, resulting in his self-righteousness and over-the-top indignation. |
| Joke all you want about billionaire tantrums, but it has worked time and again for Mr. Musk. And it worked this time, as Alameda County appears to have caved. | Joke all you want about billionaire tantrums, but it has worked time and again for Mr. Musk. And it worked this time, as Alameda County appears to have caved. |
| Officials have noted that they reviewed Tesla’s reopening plans and would give the go-ahead for next week, if all was as promised. Too late, obviously, since Mr. Musk was already far down the road, as anyone could see from photos of the full Tesla parking lot. | Officials have noted that they reviewed Tesla’s reopening plans and would give the go-ahead for next week, if all was as promised. Too late, obviously, since Mr. Musk was already far down the road, as anyone could see from photos of the full Tesla parking lot. |
| Now comes the debate over the ability of the titans of tech to do whatever they want. Here’s another memo: They can and they do. | Now comes the debate over the ability of the titans of tech to do whatever they want. Here’s another memo: They can and they do. |
| While I am not so sure that I totally disagree with Mr. Musk pressing to get his business up and running as soon as possible, do we really want to endorse those who use tactics like openly disdaining the complex trade-offs of governing in the pandemic age? | While I am not so sure that I totally disagree with Mr. Musk pressing to get his business up and running as soon as possible, do we really want to endorse those who use tactics like openly disdaining the complex trade-offs of governing in the pandemic age? |
| It seems both uncaring and especially willful just when we need more wisdom and care. More to the point, do we want business leaders making public health decisions for the rest of us? | It seems both uncaring and especially willful just when we need more wisdom and care. More to the point, do we want business leaders making public health decisions for the rest of us? |
| In a backward way, this story was not unlike the announcement this month by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — who has also been criticized over worker safety issues — that he was devoting $4 billion to virus-harden his retail distribution network, which will likely give his behemoth company even more power against rivals. | In a backward way, this story was not unlike the announcement this month by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — who has also been criticized over worker safety issues — that he was devoting $4 billion to virus-harden his retail distribution network, which will likely give his behemoth company even more power against rivals. |
| “You might want to take a seat,” Mr. Bezos cautioned investors, though it was less a warning than statement of fact about him doing whatever he thinks best. | “You might want to take a seat,” Mr. Bezos cautioned investors, though it was less a warning than statement of fact about him doing whatever he thinks best. |
| There is an old saying that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. When it comes to tech leaders, we might want to think hard about the implications of that since it increasingly appears as if even asking forgiveness is not going to be happening much either. | There is an old saying that it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. When it comes to tech leaders, we might want to think hard about the implications of that since it increasingly appears as if even asking forgiveness is not going to be happening much either. |
| Or if you prefer it in Mr. Musk’s native tweetspeak: FREE SILICON VALLEY NOW. | Or if you prefer it in Mr. Musk’s native tweetspeak: FREE SILICON VALLEY NOW. |
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