Tesla CEO: 'Wrong' to quit White House advisory council
By Max Greenwood - 02/04/17 02:29 PM EST
Tesla CEO Elon Musk Elon Reeve MuskHillicon Valley: Appeals court rules Trump can't block people on Twitter | Tech giants to testify in House antitrust investigation | DHS set for grilling over facial recognition tech | Commerce to allow sales to Huawei Tesla employees claim they were penalized for using paid time off The purpose of a Space Force is a spacefaring economy MORE on Saturday chided business executives that leave President Trump Donald John TrumpEsper sidesteps question on whether he aligns more with Mattis or Trump Warren embraces Thiel label: 'Good' As tensions escalate, US must intensify pressure on Iran and the IAEA MORE's business advisory council, saying doing so "would be wrong."
In a pair of tweets on Saturday, Musk remarked on the influence that sitting on the advisory council allowed him to have, saying he was able to make addressing the president's executive order on immigration a top priority in a White House meeting on Friday.
He also said he was able to raise the issue of climate change at that same meeting. The council, he said, is "doing good," and he would remain a member.
At my request, the agenda for yesterday's White House meeting went from not mentioning the travel ban to having it be first and foremost
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2017
In addition, I again raised climate. I believe this is doing good, so will remain on council & keep at it. Doing otherwise would be wrong.
Musk's remarks came days after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick decided to resign from the council amid pressure over Trump's order denying entry to nationals from seven Muslim-majority nations and putting a hold the country's refugee resettlement program.
Shortly after the order was signed on Jan. 27, reports emerged of individuals being detained at airports around the country, including New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The city's taxi drivers launched a boycott of the airport, but Uber continued its business there as usual, sparking a wave of anger among critics of the immigration order and prompting more than 200,000 people to delete their Uber accounts.
Musk, however, remained on the advisory council, and vowed to express his objections to the president's executive order at the Friday meeting.
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that has suspended "any and all actions" regarding Trump's ban on citizens from the seven countries, though the government plans to file an emergency stay on a judge's ruling halting the order.
Shortly after Musk's tweets on Saturday, other users began to criticize the Tesla CEO's alleged foray into politics.
"@elonmusk not sure, though, to spend time on politics is the right way. Especially when you stayed away from it by your own choice before," one user tweeted at Musk.
Musk responded by saying that he didn't want to get into politics, but said that he wanted "to help invent and develop technologies that improve lives."
Tags Tesla Über Elon Musk Donald Trump Travis Kalanick