Elon Musk Signs Letter Pledging Tesla’s Commitment to China’s ‘Core Socialist Values’

[GMDino]

https://www.mediaite.com/news/elon-musk-signs-letter-pledging-teslas-commitment-to-chinas-core-socialist-values/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

Quote:Jul 7th, 2023, 11:02 am
3147 comments


Tesla CEO Elon Musk has signed onto a letter pledging his company’s commitment to China’s “core socialist values” in order to continue operations in the world’s most populous country.


Chinese authorities had demanded that electric vehicle automakers alter their behavior after Tesla and others in the industry slashed their prices last year in order to choke out smaller competitors, which Chinese officials characterized as “reckless.”


About a third of Tesla’s sales come in the Chinese market and Tesla was the only non-Chinese firm to sign on to the letter, according to the Financial Times.

Musk has become a kind of hero on the American right since purchasing Twitter last year, which he has promised to turn into a haven for free speech.


But the billionaire executive’s business entanglements with China have threatened that status. During a trip to China last month, Musk described United States’ and China’s economies as “conjoined twins” and expressed opposition to efforts to decouple the world’s two major powers.


Musk has praised the Chinese regime for “the economic prosperity” that it has achieved in Twitter replies to state media accounts and told the Financial Times last year that he believes Taiwan should be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party as a “special administrative zone.” The suggestion was quickly celebrated by Chinese ambassador to the United States Qin Gang.

“I would like to thank @elonmusk for his call for peace across the Taiwan Strait and his idea about establishing a special administrative zone for Taiwan. Actually, Peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems are our basic principles for resolving the Taiwan question…” tweeted Gang.


Commentators across the political spectrum marveled at Musk’s stated commitment to “socialist values” on Twitter.

“How can you denounce a ‘woke mind virus’ one day and then turn around and pledge to the Chinese government that you will uphold ‘core socialist values’?” asked National Review‘s Jim Geraghty.

“Self proclaimed free speech absolutist Elon Musk’s Tesla has joined Chinese automakers in pledging to enhance ‘core socialist values,’ a term that generally denotes not criticizing the Chinese government,” observed Media Matters’ Matthew Gertz.


Tesla declined to provide the Financial Times with comment on the pledge.

[samhain]

Wow. Wonder if he'll get dragged by the right like Lebron did (deservedly, I might add), for being a sycophant for the CCP.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(07-09-2023, 10:25 PM)samhain Wrote: Wow.  Wonder if he'll get dragged by the right like Lebron did (deservedly, I might add), for being a sycophant for the CCP.

Probably.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

I'm looking for the Dino threat about Disney filming in China and literally thanking the province where Uyghur Muslims are held in concentration camps and subject to genocide. I can't seem to find it for some reason.

Making a thread about hypocrisy while being hypocritical is an amusing achievement.

[HarleyDog]

(07-09-2023, 10:25 PM)samhain Wrote: Wow.  Wonder if he'll get dragged by the right like Lebron did (deservedly, I might add), for being a sycophant for the CCP.

Nope - not from the rightwing media. He's no different than any other car salesman in America. He said what he had to say. Seriously, that's how I took that whole article. He was just selling cars.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-10-2023, 11:57 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Nope - not from the rightwing media. He's no different than any other car salesman in America. He said what he had to say. Seriously, that's how I took that whole article. He was just selling cars.

It's the price of doing business in that awful country.  If there is blame to be parceled out, and I think there is, it's to our own government the past thirty plus years who enabled a brutal regime.  This allowed companies to offshore manufacturing to maximize profit, all at the expense of the middle class.  It also created economic expansion for possibly the most vile government humans have ever created.  Musk is a total Johnny come lately to this game, he's just playing by the rules long ago established.

[Belsnickel]

(07-10-2023, 11:47 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I'm looking for the Dino threat about Disney filming in China and literally thanking the province where Uyghur Muslims are held in concentration camps and subject to genocide. I can't seem to find it for some reason.

Making a thread about hypocrisy while being hypocritical is an amusing achievement.

I don't see it as being hypocritical. He isn't bashing Elon for the action, just sharing an article about it. What you infer from his actions is an interpretation you have decided upon since he did not offer his own commentary on the actions.

(07-10-2023, 12:06 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: It's the price of doing business in that awful country.  If there is blame to be parceled out, and I think there is, it's to our own government the past thirty plus years who enabled a brutal regime.  This allowed companies to offshore manufacturing to maximize profit, all at the expense of the middle class.  It also created economic expansion for possibly the most vile government humans have ever created.  Musk is a total Johnny come lately to this game, he's just playing by the rules long ago established.

I agree here. I mean, I dislike Musk for a whole host of reasons but him playing this game isn't going to be one of them. It is one more piece of evidence for what I have been saying all along in that he is not as much of an absolutist when it comes to freedom and democracy as he likes to claim and his fanboys seem to believe, but it isn't anything different than any other company is going to be doing and it isn't news to me.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-10-2023, 12:16 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I don't see it as being hypocritical. He isn't bashing Elon for the action, just sharing an article about it. What you infer from his actions is an interpretation you have decided upon since he did not offer his own commentary on the actions.

Bel, c'mon man.

Quote:I agree here. I mean, I dislike Musk for a whole host of reasons but him playing this game isn't going to be one of them. It is one more piece of evidence for what I have been saying all along in that he is not as much of an absolutist when it comes to freedom and democracy as he likes to claim and his fanboys seem to believe, but it isn't anything different than any other company is going to be doing and it isn't news to me.

One could argue that not doing so would be against the fiduciary interests of his shareholders.  Something he's been taken to task by some in this forum for in the past in regards to his tweets.

[HarleyDog]

(07-10-2023, 12:06 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: It's the price of doing business in that awful country.  If there is blame to be parceled out, and I think there is, it's to our own government the past thirty plus years who enabled a brutal regime.  This allowed companies to offshore manufacturing to maximize profit, all at the expense of the middle class.  It also created economic expansion for possibly the most vile government humans have ever created.  Musk is a total Johnny come lately to this game, he's just playing by the rules long ago established.

I think about this often. We created a monster in China. We have to get ahead of this quickly,  both militarily and politically before it's too late. Worse yet, it's not something that just crept up on us. We saw the warning signs and continued business as usual. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-10-2023, 12:33 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I think about this often. We created a monster in China. We have to get ahead of this quickly,  both militarily and politically before it's too late. Worse yet, it's not something that just crept up on us. We saw the warning signs and continued business as usual. 

We ignored them because people were making money and donating to politicians to keep things as they were.  Clinton deserves the blame for kickstarting this whole mess, but every administration since has perpetuated it.  Honestly, the most hostile administration to China was probably Trump, but I don't have solid evidence in that regard, nor do I really care to dig deep and research that.

I have to give China credit, they realized early they couldn't be a pariah nation like the USSR and succeed, so they played on our greed.  All the while stealing trillions of dollars in trade and military secrets.  They're the closest to 1984 a nation has ever got, and they'll likely finish the job in a generation of two.  Woe to anyone who falls under their yoke.

[Belsnickel]

(07-10-2023, 12:28 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Bel, c'mon man.

Hey, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

(07-10-2023, 12:28 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: One could argue that not doing so would be against the fiduciary interests of his shareholders.  Something he's been taken to task by some in this forum for in the past in regards to his tweets.

I mean, what you are describing is the classic conflict between democracy and capitalism. I don't disagree with you, I just get frustrated when people fail to understand this. These sorts of things are messy and people are generally too quick to put people on a pedestal. To be fair, I feel the same about people who typically agree with me. I really dislike the cults that have popped up around various people and it is becoming all too common in the age of social media.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-10-2023, 12:41 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Hey, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.

You're a better man than me.  

Quote:I mean, what you are describing is the classic conflict between democracy and capitalism. I don't disagree with you, I just get frustrated when people fail to understand this. These sorts of things are messy and people are generally too quick to put people on a pedestal. To be fair, I feel the same about people who typically agree with me. I really dislike the cults that have popped up around various people and it is becoming all too common in the age of social media.

I don't disagree at all.  I think the Musk thing is interesting because his group of admirers has shifted completely.  That said, Musk makes more sense to me, as he seems like a more regular guy, but that I mean a person with foibles and flaws.  He's certainly an odd dude, and I'm sure his autism is a large contributor to this.  But I think the thing that resonates the most with people, and what I find most admirable about him, is that I think he genuinely cares about the future of the human race.  Some would argue that if he did he'd be doing things like feeding people and building housing.  But he's addressing it in ways that appeal to him, space exploration/expansion, internet access, alternative energy etc.

He's certainly far from perfect, and it's clear he's very capable of being petty.  But when you compare him to a comic book villain like Bezos or a lizard person like Zuckerberg it's easier to see why people like him.

[Belsnickel]

(07-10-2023, 12:47 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I don't disagree at all.  I think the Musk thing is interesting because his group of admirers has shifted completely.  That said, Musk makes more sense to me, as he seems like a more regular guy, but that I mean a person with foibles and flaws.  He's certainly an odd dude, and I'm sure his autism is a large contributor to this.  But I think the thing that resonates the most with people, and what I find most admirable about him, is that I think he genuinely cares about the future of the human race.  Some would argue that if he did he'd be doing things like feeding people and building housing.  But he's addressing it in ways that appeal to him, space exploration/expansion, internet access, alternative energy etc.

He's certainly far from perfect, and it's clear he's very capable of being petty.  But when you compare him to a comic book villain like Bezos or a lizard person like Zuckerberg it's easier to see why people like him.

I think Musk cares about the future of the human race for two reasons: One, he is a human, and two, so his name would be immortalized. He's not unique in this, it's just not something I admire. There is nothing about him that says "altruism" to me, which is where I start to give kudos.

[GMDino]

(07-10-2023, 12:16 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I don't see it as being hypocritical. He isn't bashing Elon for the action, just sharing an article about it. What you infer from his actions is an interpretation you have decided upon since he did not offer his own commentary on the actions.


I agree here. I mean, I dislike Musk for a whole host of reasons but him playing this game isn't going to be one of them. It is one more piece of evidence for what I have been saying all along in that he is not as much of an absolutist when it comes to freedom and democracy as he likes to claim and his fanboys seem to believe, but it isn't anything different than any other company is going to be doing and it isn't news to me.

Yep.  He thought undercutting the competition would work and the government made him stop if he wanted to continue selling there.  Many companies have bent over to stay in that market but not many have been as outspoken about China and "freedom" as Mr. Musk.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(07-10-2023, 01:07 PM)GMDino Wrote: Yep.  He thought undercutting the competition would work and the government made him stop if he wanted to continue selling there.  Many companies have bent over to stay in that market but not many have been as outspoken about China and "freedom" as Mr. Musk.

You're acting like he agrees with you when he specifically stated he doesn't. 

[NATI BENGALS]

Makes me uncomfortable how much money the US gov has/will supply him with. Nasa contracts, military starlink contracts, subsidizing his cars, his solar panels. The worlds richest man. Gets a bigger welfare check than anybody and he gets to praise china while he is at it.

Pretty f'd up

[GMDino]

Elon also *may* be trying to tilt the battlefield when he can.  In favor of the Russians, of course.

NYT reports that Elon Musk personally thwarted a Ukrainian military operation he disapproved of. https://t.co/7hWGMBKo5j pic.twitter.com/Q5jrNZh2vX

— David Frum (@davidfrum) July 30, 2023

 

[Dill]

(07-30-2023, 11:48 AM)GMDino Wrote: Elon also *may* be trying to tilt the battlefield when he can.  In favor of the Russians, of course.

That's the battle between left and right in every capitalist country.

The capitalist owner privately controls essentials for everyone's existence--jobs, food, housing, communications networks, clean air and water.

Leftists use government to even the playing field, to exercise public control over those essentials. 

Hence all the fights over taxes, entitlement programs, and regulation of internet speech and access, banks, restaurants, slaughter houses,
child labor, etc. 

Small government vs big.