As millions of people lose their jobs, Elon Musk is speaking out against the stay-at-home orders across the nation, calling them “fascist” and saying that they are “forcibly imprisoning people” in their homes.
Unemployment numbers have spiked in unprecedented levels and the federal government has taken out historic debt in an attempt to soften the blow against COVID-19.
Musk made the comments during a Tesla earnings call on Wednesday.
He even tweeted praise for Texas for lifting its stay-at-home restrictions. States like Texas, Ohio, and Florida are among the first to repoen.
His “FREE AMERICA NOW” tweet has been compared to Trump’s “Liberate!” tweets.
Throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic, Musk has been consistent in that he believes in personal freedom and that people have the right to go to work and to be responsible on their own.
More details on the explosive earnings call with Elon Musk below:
Countless businesses across the nation have been forced to permanently shutter their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Millions of workers have been furloughed or layed off due to the forcible closure of businesses deemed non-essential by the government.
During Tesla's earnings call, Musk made his opinions known to everyone listening, according to CBS News:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk railed against what he called "fascist" social distancing measures on an earnings call Wednesday. In an expletive-laden rant, Musk warned that shelter-in-place orders in California, where a major Tesla factory is located, also pose a "serious risk" to the company.
"If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great," Musk said, according to a recording of the call reviewed by CBS News. "They can stay in their 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 g**d*** freedom."
No state has implemented an order forbidding residents from leaving their homes, although many have ordered residents to only leave for essential purposes.
An order in the six-county San Francisco Bay Area forced Tesla to close one of its plants, starting March 23, to help prevent the virus' spread. That order was later extended until the end of May. Public health experts say the orders have reduced the number of new coronavirus cases nationwide.
"We are a little bit worried about not being able to resume production in the Bay Area and that should be identified as a serious risk," Musk said. "We only have two car factories right now, one in Shanghai and one in the Bay Area."
"The extension of the shelter-in-place or frankly what I would call it, forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights ... my opinion ... and breaking people's freedom in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why people came to America or built this country," Musk added. "What the f***. Excuse me. Outrage. So it will cause great harm, not just to Telsa, but many companies. And while Tesla will weather the storm there are many small companies that will not."
Many leaders share Musk's sentiments.
They argue that forcing stay-at-home orders essentially limits people's freedoms and removes the opportunity for them to make responsible choices that are right for them.
Tesla, which has been growing rapidly, has also been impacted by the shutdown.
It was revealed that Tesla had to reduce its production forecast by half a million vehicles due to the extensive shut down orders in the state of California.
As the CEO of one of the most successful technology companies in the world, Musk is inherently data-driven.
He's not questioning the danger of COVID-19, but rather, is raising valid concerns over personal freedom that is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Business Insider confirms that Musk compared shutdowns to forcible imprisonment:
In a short rant complete with expletives, Elon Musk doubled down on his stance against the shelter-in-place orders introduced by various US states in recent weeks in an effort to stop the novel coronavirus' spread.
The Tesla chief executive did not mince words on a Wednesday conference call following the company's surprise first-quarter profit when he said Tesla's forced factory shutdowns were a "serious risk" to the electric-car maker's business.
"Frankly, I would call it forcible imprisoning of people in their homes against all of, their constitutional rights, in my opinion," he said. "It's breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country. What the f---. Excuse me. Outrage. Outrage."
While the U.S. is expected to have a second wave of novel coronavirus cases as the economy reopens, Sweden is expected to remain steady. Sweden is one of the few countries that didn't impose mass social distancing orders. They largely continued business as usual and left responsibility up to the people as well as business owners.
Musk and President Trump don't see eye-to-eye on everything.
But like President Trump, Musk is known to speak off the cuff and without a filter, so you know he truly means what he says!
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