Dear,
In November 2015, Donald Trump hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) giving him
a platform to promote his presidential campaign, joke about his plan to
build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and make fun of the
Latino groups protesting him as a racist. Trump hid his dangerous agenda
behind humor, and mainstream media went along. We all know what happened
next.
And now Elon Musk will host SNL on May 8. Another rich white man who
didn’t earn his wealth, spreads misinformation about the COVID-19
pandemic, and exploits his workers, will now get to spout his lies and
hate under the guise of comedy.[ [link removed] ][ [link removed] ]
Mainstream media continues to ignore the real dangers of going along with
corporate CEOs like Musk who use this kind of attention to promote
conspiracy theories and cover up how they are hurting workers and
communities. So who can hold Musk accountable for his deceit and
exploitation? His board.
[1]Sign our petition calling on the Tesla board to hold Musk accountable.
Like Trump, Elon Musk has cultivated a reputation as an eccentric
entrepreneur. And similar to Trump, Musk’s wealth is built on the very
government he likes to label as “fascist.”[3] Millions of Californian and
federal public dollars have been used to subsidize purchases of Tesla’s
Powerwall home power storage unit, and one of Tesla’s primary sources of
revenue is its sales of transferable income tax credits (ITCs) that it
receives from the government.[4][5]
Elon Musk has also amassed nearly $200 BILLION in wealth at the expense of
his workers. Workers he ordered back to the Fremont factory without
adequate protections and in defiance of county shutdown orders.[6] Workers
who were forced to work through injuries and weren’t given proper medical
treatment so that Tesla could continue to underreport on the dangers in
the workplace.[7] Workers who may face lifelong complications and medical
bills so Musk can make his billions.
It’s time for us to put pressure on the Tesla board to hold Elon Musk
accountable and stop his exploitation of workers and government programs
for his own gain.
Elon Musk has shown that he knows how to manipulate the narrative around
him to avoid accountability. In the last few years, as more stories of
Tesla controversies were coming to light, he brought on two new members to
their Board of Directors, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson and James Murdoch, to
provide cover for his wrongdoings. Wilson-Thompson and Murdoch are seen as
leaders with integrity and who seem to value truth, public health, and the
safety of workers. But it’s clear they haven’t been able to rein in Musk,
and he continues to bolster his reputation with their support. They should
resign from the board in protest and publicize Musk’s misdeeds.
[2]Sign a petition to call on Kathleen Wilson-Thompson and James Murdoch
to stop providing cover for Elon Musk and resign from Tesla’s board.
Let’s send a message to Elon Musk that he can, and will, be held
accountable for profiting off of worker exploitation and the very
government he likes to scapegoat.
In solidarity,
Irene, along with Angela, Annie, Caitlin, Deepthi, Jay, Lindsay,
LisaMarie, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage team)
Footnotes:
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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.
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