Despite protests driving Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to back out of President Trump’s economic advisory council following last weekend’s hasty Muslim immigration ban, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, will ignore overwhelming pressure to do the same and instead voice his objections directly to the President.
Following a very tepid initial response to the outcry over the President’s executive order banning visa and green card holders and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries last weekend, Elon Musk decided to use his position in Trump’s advisory council to share “specific amendments” to the ban he put an open call out for on Twitter.
After that didn’t go over so well, Elon Musk released a statement on Thursday to clarify that he doesn’t necessarily agree with the actions of the President, but that his goals for his role as adviser to the man behind the illegal and disastrous Muslim ban order are focused on, like, energy and stuff.
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Here’s Musk’s statement:
“In December, I agreed to join the Presidential Advisory Forum to provide feedback on issues that I think are important for our country and the world. In tomorrow’s meeting, I and others will express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration and offer suggestions for changes to the policy.
Advisory councils simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the Administration. My goals are to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy and to help make humanity a multi-planet civilization, a consequence of which will be the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs and a more inspiring future for all. I understand the perspective of those who object to my attending this meeting, but I believe at this time that engaging on critical issues will on balance serve the greater good.”
Hot Fuzz is a movie directed by Edgar Wright and released in 2007 with a strong running joke about a small English community that forms a Fascist cult to kill any wrongdoers harming their perfect town for, get this, “the greater good.” So I’m not buying that argument.
If President Trump is unwilling to listen to families, protesters, or judges, and is even willing to go so far as to fire the acting Attorney General for “betraying” the Department of Justice by not enforcing his illegal order, then I highly doubt he will take your Twitter-sourced “amendments” seriously, Mr. Musk.
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Like the president, Musk is a businessman, and if Musk’s businesses are currently booming under the new administration, why bite the hand?
The headline has been updated.
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