| 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.[1][2] 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. 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. 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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