Elon Musk says shelter-in-place orders during COVID-19 are ‘fascist’
Elon Musk called the shelter-in-place orders in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the US “fascist” actions that are stripping people of their freedom on a Tesla earnings call on Wednesday. Musk’s comments come after a torrent of criticism for remarks he made late Tuesday night on Twitter, in which the billionaire CEO echoed President Trump by writing in all caps, “Free America Now.”
“If somebody wants to stay in the house that’s that’s great. They should be allowed to stay in the house and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do… this is fascist,” Musk said Wednesday. “This is not democratic. This is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom.”
Tesla’s primary factory is located in Fremont, California, and after initially attempting to fight county orders listing the car maker as non-essential, Musk ultimately did close down the facility alongside the company’s Buffalo solar panel plant. (The company’s Nevada Gigafactory remains open, despite the state’s governor ordering all non-essential businesses to close.) On the earnings call, Musk also said, “We are a bit worried about not being able to resume production in the Bay Area, and that should be identified as a serious risk.”
Elon Musk called the shelter-in-place orders in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the US “fascist” actions that are stripping people of their freedom on a Tesla earnings call on Wednesday. Musk’s comments come after a torrent of criticism for remarks he made late Tuesday night on Twitter, in…
