Online Public Relations Thoughts

President Biden says he is going to raise tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum to protect American industry and workers.  Apparently he hasn't read an economics text book for why this is a bad idea.  Yet, his message is favorable to the unions who work in these US plants and they support it wholeheartedly.  Who will pay?  Consumers, of course, when the charge for raw materials climbs domestically.  But, that is far enough off that Biden needn't worry about it now. His message is short-sighted and wrong but popular nonetheless.  

Tesla's board wants to reinstitute Elon Musk's $56 million pay package and is asking shareholders to reapprove it.  The unanswered question is whether Musk will pay close attention to the carmaker if he gets the largesse.  Recent news reports have concluded that Musk has lost interest in Tesla.  Its sales are dropping.  It has no new models in the works.  Other EV makers are quickly catching up.  Tesla has started laying off workers.  Tesla has competition for the first time.  Will Musk take them on or scurry to the sidelines and watch his company go belly-up?. 

Tesla has settled a lawsuit brought by the family of a mam who was driving one of its vehicles in  autonomous mode.  The family's suit cited Musk for "repeatedly exaggerating the capabilities of Tesla’s self-driving car technology."  Musk hyped the self-driving mode for years even when it was shown that self-driving failed during key steering decisions.  Other autonomous companies, notably Waymo with a far more sophisticated system, has never rolled out its technology to the public at large.  They have learned that driving is far more nuanced than hardware and software can handle or anticipate.  But Musk wouldn't back off and now he is paying the wages of hype.

It used to be a sign from the gods.  Now it is a tourist attraction.  How ideas have changed.