Elon Musk praises Chinese workers, says Americans ‘trying to avoid’ work

[beijingwalker]

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers, says Americans ‘trying to avoid’ work​

By Thomas Barrabi
May 11, 2022

Elon Musk said he expects "very strong" EV startups to emerge from China.AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk hailed Chinese workers during an event this week – praising their talent and work ethic even as he took a jab at some members of the American labor force.

When asked to reveal which electric vehicle startups have impressed him the most, Musk first pointed to Volkswagen as a burgeoning competitor to his market-leading Tesla.

Next, he pivoted to China, stating that he expected some “very strong companies” to emerge from the country and provide more competition in the years ahead.

“There’s just a lot of super-talented, hard-working people in China that strongly believe in manufacturing and they won’t just be burning the midnight oil, they’ll be burning the 3 am oil,” Musk told the Financial Times.

“They won’t even leave the factory, type of thing, whereas in America, people are trying to avoid going to work at all,” he added.

Tesla already has one major manufacturing plant in Shanghai and the company indicated earlier this month that it plans to build a second facility in the area. Once the second plant is complete, Tesla will have the capacity to build as many as two million cars per year out of Shanghai.

Tesla has a manufacturing plant in Shanghai.REUTERS

But the original Shanghai plant has contended with issues in recent weeks – including supply shortages and renewed COVID-19 lockdowns in China that led to workers sleeping at the factory, according to Bloomberg.

Musk told the FT that he expects pressure from the China lockdowns to ease in the days ahead.

‘I’ve had some conversations with the Chinese government in recent days, and it’s clear that the lockdowns are being lifted rapidly, so I would not expect this to be a significant issue in the coming weeks,” Musk added.

Musk’s own work ethic has drawn headlines. When Tesla was struggling to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedan in 2018, Musk told CBS that he had taken to “sleeping on the factory floor” because he lacked the time to go home.

Tesla plans to build a second facility in Shanghai.Future Publishing via Getty Imag

While Tesla is betting heavily on China to meet demand for its vehicles, the company has clashed with workers and labor advocates in the U.S. The state of California filed suit against Tesla earlier this yearover claims of alleged racial bias and discrimination at one of its factories within the state.

In March, Musk said he would welcome United Auto Workers to hold a union vote at Tesla’s California manufacturing plant – asserting the company’s workers are already well-treated and compensated.

Meanwhile, Musk is moving forward with his effort to acquire Twitter. The billionaire sparked a debate Tuesday after he said he would overturn former President Donald Trump’s permanent ban from the platform.

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers, says Americans ‘trying to avoid’ work

Billionaire Elon Musk heaped praise on Chinese workers during an event this week – praising their talent and work ethic even as he took a jab at some members of the American labor force.

nypost.com

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

“They won’t even leave the factory, type of thing, whereas in America, people are trying to avoid going to work at all,” he added.

It's avoiding "going to" work...as in staying at home and telecommuting.

 

[LakeHawk180]

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers, says Americans ‘trying to avoid’ work​

By Thomas Barrabi
May 11, 2022

Elon Musk said he expects "very strong" EV startups to emerge from China.AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk hailed Chinese workers during an event this week – praising their talent and work ethic even as he took a jab at some members of the American labor force.

When asked to reveal which electric vehicle startups have impressed him the most, Musk first pointed to Volkswagen as a burgeoning competitor to his market-leading Tesla.

Next, he pivoted to China, stating that he expected some “very strong companies” to emerge from the country and provide more competition in the years ahead.

“There’s just a lot of super-talented, hard-working people in China that strongly believe in manufacturing and they won’t just be burning the midnight oil, they’ll be burning the 3 am oil,” Musk told the Financial Times.

“They won’t even leave the factory, type of thing, whereas in America, people are trying to avoid going to work at all,” he added.

Tesla already has one major manufacturing plant in Shanghai and the company indicated earlier this month that it plans to build a second facility in the area. Once the second plant is complete, Tesla will have the capacity to build as many as two million cars per year out of Shanghai.

Tesla has a manufacturing plant in Shanghai.REUTERS

But the original Shanghai plant has contended with issues in recent weeks – including supply shortages and renewed COVID-19 lockdowns in China that led to workers sleeping at the factory, according to Bloomberg.

Musk told the FT that he expects pressure from the China lockdowns to ease in the days ahead.

‘I’ve had some conversations with the Chinese government in recent days, and it’s clear that the lockdowns are being lifted rapidly, so I would not expect this to be a significant issue in the coming weeks,” Musk added.

Musk’s own work ethic has drawn headlines. When Tesla was struggling to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedan in 2018, Musk told CBS that he had taken to “sleeping on the factory floor” because he lacked the time to go home.

Tesla plans to build a second facility in Shanghai.Future Publishing via Getty Imag

While Tesla is betting heavily on China to meet demand for its vehicles, the company has clashed with workers and labor advocates in the U.S. The state of California filed suit against Tesla earlier this yearover claims of alleged racial bias and discrimination at one of its factories within the state.

In March, Musk said he would welcome United Auto Workers to hold a union vote at Tesla’s California manufacturing plant – asserting the company’s workers are already well-treated and compensated.

Meanwhile, Musk is moving forward with his effort to acquire Twitter. The billionaire sparked a debate Tuesday after he said he would overturn former President Donald Trump’s permanent ban from the platform.

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers, says Americans ‘trying to avoid’ work

Billionaire Elon Musk heaped praise on Chinese workers during an event this week – praising their talent and work ethic even as he took a jab at some members of the American labor force.

nypost.com

Oh boy
This isn’t a compliment buddy.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Oh boy
This isn’t a compliment buddy.

Actually this brings up a point:

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers for ‘burning the 3am oil’ – here’s what that really looks like

Tesla’s massive Shanghai ‘Giga-factory’ pushes its workers to the limit to meet production targets amid an ongoing pandemic lockdown

www.theguardian.com

"...These practices are on par with China’s extreme work culture, nicknamed “996”, in which workers are expected to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. The practice has been the source of protests in recent years and has been characterized as a form of modern slavery..."

---

@jamahir wasn't this one of the main tenets of Socialism/Communism that workers were being exploited by capitalist systems?

---

The Jungle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Reminds of Supervisors who try to encourage their subordinates to slave themselves out by using phrases like "not working upto your potential" , "you all need to work as hard as him/her" etc

However, for Chinese an American's approval seems to be civilizational goal

 

[jamahir]

Actually this brings up a point:

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers for ‘burning the 3am oil’ – here’s what that really looks like

Tesla’s massive Shanghai ‘Giga-factory’ pushes its workers to the limit to meet production targets amid an ongoing pandemic lockdown

www.theguardian.com

"...These practices are on par with China’s extreme work culture, nicknamed “996”, in which workers are expected to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. The practice has been the source of protests in recent years and has been characterized as a form of modern slavery..."

---

@jamahir wasn't this one of the main tenets of Socialism/Communism that workers were being exploited by capitalist systems?

---

The Jungle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States

Firstly, The Jungle has much sadness and it was reality from what can be gathered including also about the Ford car company under Henry Ford. The book was a good effort and nice that it brought awareness and some change.

About modern China I agree with you and I have quite a few times told our Chinese members that China should stop calling itself a people's republic since there isn't much of Communism there, not much of the people being served by the system. The workers are exploited which you quoted from the article and there is this another section :

In April, Tesla restricted its Shanghai workers from leaving the factory under a so-called “closed-loop” system originally developed by Chinese authorities to contain Beijing Olympics participants. While locked inside, the workers were reportedly made to work 12-hour shifts, six days in a row, and to sleep on factory floors.

And then Chinese workers taken outside China are removed of their passports and threatened to be left without identity and without much money in foreign land. What is this ?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

What is this ?

It's George Orwell's Animal Farm where the "do-gooder" Socialist all-controlling revolutionary leaders implement policies just as bad as the people they overthrew.

Animal Farm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, the rebellion is betrayed, and the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon."

 

[jamahir]

It's George Orwell's Animal Farm where the "do-gooder" Socialist all-controlling revolutionary leaders implement policies just as bad as the people they overthrew.

Animal Farm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, the rebellion is betrayed, and the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon."

In China's case it turned out to be true though by the leader betraying the ideology.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

In China's case it turned out to be true though by the leader betraying the ideology.

They are worse than the original capitalists.

This somehow reminds me of the Blazing Saddles scene where the Native American's see African American's for the first time and in complete shock don't know what to do other than to say "They are darker than us"

 

[beijingwalker]

Reminds of Supervisors who try to encourage their subordinates to slave themselves out by using phrases like "not working upto your potential" , "you all need to work as hard as him/her" etc

However, for Chinese an American's approval seems to be civilizational goal

Only Indians have this slave mentality, maybe due to its centuries old foreign domination, any comments from the whites are thought to be whites approval and any comments from developing countries are believed to be worthless, a very strange Indian national psyche.

Actually this brings up a point:

Elon Musk praises Chinese workers for ‘burning the 3am oil’ – here’s what that really looks like

Tesla’s massive Shanghai ‘Giga-factory’ pushes its workers to the limit to meet production targets amid an ongoing pandemic lockdown

www.theguardian.com

"...These practices are on par with China’s extreme work culture, nicknamed “996”, in which workers are expected to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. The practice has been the source of protests in recent years and has been characterized as a form of modern slavery..."

LOL,Typical western braindead way of thinking, on one hand, they claim Chinese people are "lying flat‘’, so China is collapsing, on the other hand, they claim Chinese people are working like there is no tomrrow, Chinese work like machines never rest. the western propagandists are too stupid to see their own contradictions.

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Only Indians have this slave mentality, maybe due to its centuries old foreign domination, any comments from the whites are thought to be whites approval and any comments from developing countries are believed to be worthless, a very strange Indian national psyche.

You seem be a poster boy for my comment

Look at the fierce concern for "whites" in your response, something my post did not even mention

Freudian slip or cultural conditioning, similar to these examples below-

 

[SaadH]

How long before Elon finally ditches good ol' USA after sucking it's public dry and becomes a Junior Vice President in the Chinese Communist Party...

 

[dbc]

“There’s just a lot of super-talented, hard-working people in China that strongly believe in manufacturing and they won’t just be burning the midnight oil, they’ll be burning the 3 am oil,” Musk told the Financial Times.

are you really proud of worker abuse in China? Knowing full well that people are actually dying in China from overwork? Forget 996, here Elon is promoting 18 hour day work culture.

 

[beijingwalker]

are you really proud of worker abuse in China? Knowing full well that people are actually dying in China from overwork? Forget 996, here Elon is promoting 18 hour day work culture.

I just pointed out the western propaganda, I live in China, I know how we work , relax and vacation, neither "lying flat" nor "workaholics", only fools can't see the contradiction of western propaganda.

You seem be a poster boy for my comment

Look at the fierce concern for "whites" in your response, something my post did not even mention

Freudian slip or cultural conditioning, similar to these examples below-

View attachment 843806


View attachment 843807

What does it have to do with this thread? every country has their own share of crazy people, US and India definitely have more. By the way, China is kicking out foreigners now, which I don't believe its a right thing to do, but that is another story.

 

[dbc]

I just pointed out the western propaganda, I live in China, I know how we work , relax and vacation, neither "lying flat" nor "workaholics", only fools can't see the contradiction of western propaganda.

It's not western propaganda, the stats on worker deaths are published by the Chinese government. Unfortunately the Chinese government statistics conflate death from overwork with work related death / injury. You keep painting China as a utopian society when in fact more people die from work related injuries than from COVID - but I don't see factories being locked down.

https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4589731465407249

Overtime triggers heated discussion after workers' deaths

Debate about working overtime in China's burgeoning information technology sector has resurfaced after the deaths of two staff members at major internet companies.

www.chinadaily.com.cn

now don't tell me China Daily is Western MSM.