On Wednesday, Elon Musk pointed out that the shelter-in-place orders imposed in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the US are fascist actions that simply strip people off their freedom. The strong comment came as a response to the criticism he received on the tweet he posted on Tuesday night.
His tweet said “FREE AMERICA NOW” and its mere use of capital letters took us by surprise as it felt like the tweet came from President Donald Trump.
“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.” – ranted Elon Musk.
The Six Bay Area has extended its shelter-in-place orders through May 31st and impacts San Francisco, Fremont, and other nearby cities.
“The expansion of shelter-in-place, or as we call it, forcibly imprisoning people in their homes, against all their constitutional rights, is, in my opinion, breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong, and not why people came to America and built this country. What the fuck!” – Said Elon Musk continuing his rant.
“If somebody wants to stay in the house, 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. This is not democratic. This is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom.” – He added.
The aggressive reaction to the extension of the lockdown makes sense when you discover that Tesla’s primary factory is located in Fremont, California.
He had shown resistance in the initial days of this pandemic, but decided to abide by the law and shut down the facility along with the company’s buffalo solar panel plant. In addition to this, he kept the factory open for five additional days after the initial shelter-in-place orders were implemented.
In fact, Tesla defied the orders again last week when it requested some of the Fremont factory employees to rejoin work. It must also be notified that Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory stays open, even when the state’s governor strictly ordered all non-essential businesses to shut down.
Musk has shown concern and has said that Tesla would survive after the COVID-19 crisis ends but he can’t be so sure about the smaller companies.
“Everything people have worked for all their lives is being destroyed in real time. I think the people are going to be very angry about this and are very angry.”
He has been quite outspoken when it comes to criticizing the safety measures instituted in the US as a response to the pandemic. He has reasoned that the economy would crash if the shelter-in-place guidelines are not reconsidered.