Elon Musk on EV Subsidies, Company Titles and China: The Full Transcript

Joanna Stern

Hello Elon, how are you?

Elon Musk

Good, how are you?

Joanna Stern

Fairly good. Fairly good. Thanks so a lot for being right here. And by right here I imply…

Elon Musk

Positive. Electronically.

Joanna Stern

And the place are you proper now?

Elon Musk

I’m on the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing unit that we’re about to finish. So, yeah. What you see behind me is the manufacturing unit, mainly. We now have the workplace house and the manufacturing unit type of collectively. So I believe that is type of vital, that we don’t have ivory tower administration or engineering and that the administration and engineering is as near the manufacturing unit as doable. So, yeah. So you possibly can see what’s happening within the manufacturing unit and keep grounded.

Joanna Stern

All proper. Nicely, I’m within the ivory tower right here in entrance of numerous CEOs and a dwell viewers right here in Washington, D.C. And we’re additionally joined by a lot of individuals all around the web. We’re streaming this to WSJ.com,

Twitter

and YouTube. So we’ve a really temporary period of time. Solely half-hour.

However I’m very excited to speak a couple of huge vary of issues. I need to begin with speaking about our world, the world we at present dwell in. Then I need to transfer to the way forward for the world. After which discuss a bit bit about your world.

And so we’ll begin proper right here in Washington, D.C., the place everyone seems to be speaking concerning the infrastructure plan and the invoice. And I needed to ask you, you realize, say tomorrow you get a telephone name from

Joe Biden

and he says…

Elon Musk

I believe that’s unlikely, however positive.

Joanna Stern

Okay. You already know, he simply offers you a name. And he says, “You already know, I haven’t been speaking so much about Tesla recently, however, you realize, what do you want from this invoice? What are your wants?” What do you reply him?

Elon Musk

Nicely, to be completely frank, nobody at Tesla’s really introduced up whether or not they care about this invoice or not. I believe if this invoice occurred or didn’t occur, we don’t give it some thought in any respect, actually.

Joanna Stern

Okay.

Elon Musk

It is likely to be higher, actually, if the invoice doesn’t go. As a result of we’ve spent a lot cash, you realize. It’s just like the federal finances deficit is insane. You already know, it’s like $3 trillion federal expenditures, or $7 trillion. Federal income is $4 trillion. If this was an organization, it’d be a $3 trillion loss.

So I don’t know if we ought to be including to that loss. That appears fairly loopy. One thing’s acquired to present. You may’t simply spend $3 trillion greater than you earn yearly and don’t anticipate one thing dangerous to occur. I believe, you realize, this isn’t good.

Joanna Stern

Nicely,

Mitch McConnell

is definitely saying…

Elon Musk

And actually, if I’ll elaborate on that, the deficit is greater than $3 trillion if you take a look at the longer term obligations. So it’s $7 trillion of present expenditures, nevertheless it’s rather more than that if you happen to take a look at future obligations for social safety, Medicare and so forth. So we’re working this unbelievable deficit. One thing’s acquired to present. This will’t maintain going.

Joanna Stern

Nicely, Mitch McConnell mentioned one thing related. Not as excessive as you. However OK, so let’s say his comply with up query is, “Okay Elon, you don’t suppose we have to spend something on the infrastructure?” If he says to you, “What’s the largest enchancment we are able to make to the U.S. infrastructure, what do you say?”

Elon Musk

I believe we typically might have higher airports, higher highways. Particularly in cities which might be congested, we’ve acquired to do one thing to take care of excessive site visitors, which, I believe, is a few mixture of double-deckering freeways and constructing tunnels.

But when we don’t do one thing, we will probably be caught in site visitors perpetually. And as autonomous autos come to the fore, and it’s simpler to drive with out going via the ache of having to drive your self, which is completely coming and will probably be one of many largest transformations ever in human civilization. There will probably be extra automobiles on the street. And, the site visitors will get a lot worse. And so we actually have to do some mixture of tunnels or, like I mentioned, double-deckering freeways.

I’m not an enormous believer in flying automobiles. They’re mainly helicopters with wheels. And folks don’t need the skies to be swarming with helicopters. So it’s tunnels and double-deckering freeways. We don’t have a site visitors drawback in suburbs, we’ve a site visitors drawback on freeways as a result of they’re simply too small and didn’t anticipate the scale of the city environments that we at present expertise. So, yeah. However I don’t see a powerful effort in this course.

Joanna Stern

Nicely, I need to come again to autonomous autos, however needed to only keep a bit bit extra on the function of presidency. You mentioned at this convention, really, a yr in the past, that you suppose the federal government ought to actually simply be fingers off in relation to innovation. Although with this invoice, there may be numerous assist for EVs and it might be the largest change that we’ve seen all through the nation by way of the infrastructure of EVs. And it helps Tesla. What do you suppose the function of presidency ought to be?

Elon Musk

I believe the function of presidency ought to be that of, like, a referee. However not a participant on the area. So typically, authorities ought to simply attempt to get out of the way in which and never impede progress. I believe there’s a normal drawback, not simply within the U.S., however in most nations, the place the foundations and laws maintain growing yearly.

Guidelines and laws are immortal. They don’t die. Often you see a regulation with a sundown provision, however actually, in any other case, the overwhelming majority of guidelines and laws dwell perpetually. And so if extra guidelines and laws are utilized yearly and it simply retains rising and rising, ultimately it simply takes longer and longer and it’s tougher to do issues.

And there’s probably not an efficient rubbish assortment system for eradicating guidelines and laws. And so step by step this hardens the arteries of civilization, the place you’re capable of do much less and fewer over time. So I believe governments ought to be actually making an attempt onerous to do away with guidelines and laws that maybe had some advantage sooner or later however don’t have advantage at present. However there’s little or no effort on this course. This can be a large drawback.

Joanna Stern

And I additionally need to come again to later, I know that you just do have another stance on AI and the foundations and laws we ought to have on that. However proper now you’re sitting in a Tesla manufacturing unit, how are you spending your time today? Between the break up between House X and Tesla?

Elon Musk

Yeah, it’s about even between House X and Tesla. It will depend on what’s the disaster of the second. So some weeks will probably be extra Tesla, extra House X. However I work so much. I work seven days every week and put in some fairly loopy hours. Nevertheless it actually will depend on the place I’m wanted most.

I mainly simply triage the duties and attempt to do issues which might be most helpful or the place I’m most wanted. It varies from one week to the subsequent.

However simply going again to that infrastructure invoice for a second, as a result of generally the criticism of Tesla is like, “Hey, Tesla will get all these subsidies.” Nevertheless it’s price noting that for the car buy tax credit score, the $7,500, Tesla stopped getting that, like, two years in the past. Whereas everybody else, I believe, apart from GM, nonetheless will get the $7,500 tax credit score. So all of our gross sales this yr and I believe final yr had nothing to do with the tax credit score as a result of we had been now not eligible as a result of we had made so many electrical automobiles.

Tesla has made roughly two-thirds of all of the electrical automobiles in america. I’m undecided most individuals are conscious of that. So, yeah. So Tesla’s made mainly twice as many electrical autos as the remainder of [the] trade mixed. And we don’t want the $7,500 tax credit score. I’d say actually, I would simply can this entire invoice. Don’t go it. That’s my suggestion.

Joanna Stern

What concerning the assist although for the charging community? I imply, there are components of this invoice…

Elon Musk

Pointless.

Joanna Stern

No?

Elon Musk

No. I imply, do we want assist for gasoline stations? We don’t. So there’s no want for assist for a charging community. I’d delete it. Delete.

Joanna Stern

Okay. All proper.

Elon Musk

I’m actually saying do away with all subsidies.

Joanna Stern

And…

Elon Musk

But in addition for oil and gasoline.

Joanna Stern

If you consider how this impacts your opponents, does that influence a few of your view on this?

Elon Musk

I imply, perhaps they want it. I don’t know. However I believe simply typically I’m in favor of deleting subsidies. I imply, after we began Tesla, there have been no EV subsidies in any respect. And gasoline was tremendous low cost. We didn’t anticipate any subsidies. That got here later. And the $7,500 tax credit score got here consequently, not of Tesla exercise, however of

Common Motors

lobbying for it. So I’d simply say simply delete [th]em all.

Joanna Stern

All proper. However there are another good issues on this invoice that some would argue. I imply, some huge cash earmarked for R&D. Would you need to put that in the direction of one thing?

Elon Musk

No.

Joanna Stern

Okay. All proper. We’re going to maneuver on from the invoice, as a result of I believe we get what you’re saying…

Elon Musk

Significantly, we shouldn’t…

Joanna Stern

…on it…

Elon Musk

Cross it. Generally, if we don’t lower authorities spending, one thing actually dangerous’s going to occur. That is loopy. Our spending is thus far in extra of income, it’s insane. Like, you might zero out all billionaires within the nation.

There’s all this anti-billionaire B.S. Nicely, if you happen to zeroed out all the billionaires, you continue to wouldn’t remedy the deficit.

Joanna Stern

All proper, I’ll ask you one other query round the billionaire B.S. Say tomorrow you get the telephone name from President Biden. Subsequent day, really, we elect you to Congress. One way or the other this occurs. You’re now working on tax payments. You’re engaged on tax coverage. How do you tax somebody such as you? How do you tax billionaires?

Elon Musk

To start with, I pay numerous tax. I imply, my marginal tax fee is, like, 53%. In order that’s not trivial. After which clearly there’s asset-based taxes. The gross sales tax and all the pieces else. There’s additionally the property tax. And usually, I believe the property tax is an efficient tax.

Like, if you happen to consider belongings past a sure degree which might be far past, let’s say, any individual’s potential to eat, then at a sure level, actually what you’re doing is capital allocation. So it’s not cash for private expenditures, what you’re doing is capital allocation.

And it doesn’t make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from individuals who have demonstrated nice talent in capital allocation and provides it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor talent in capital allocation, which is the federal government. I imply, you might consider the federal government primarily as a company. The federal government is solely the largest company with the monopoly on violence. And the place you haven’t any recourse. So how a lot cash do you need to…

Joanna Stern

Are you able to clarify that final half?

Elon Musk

…give that entity?

Joanna Stern

May you clarify the final half, shortly? And then I need to transfer on to some product stuff.

Elon Musk

Positive. And I can discuss for a bit longer, if you happen to’d like, than the half an hour. Should you’re frightened about getting via different questions. However…

Joanna Stern

I hear we’ve no one else becoming a member of us at this convention.

Elon Musk

Yeah. I imply, authorities is a company within the restrict. So it’s the most company factor. It’s most company. Nevertheless it’s additionally a monopoly. And in addition it’s the one one which’s allowed legally to do violence. So why would you need to give a company with no competitors, that may’t even actually go bankrupt, extra money?

Now, it’s not needed that I believe the federal government shouldn’t exist, or that there are not good issues that the federal government can do, or issues which might be needed for the federal government to do. You already know, for instance, science packages the place we ship a probe to Mars.

And the worth of that’s … it’s a small quantity of worth for all residents. However it might be inefficient to kind of go and gather, you realize, $10 from each citizen for a Mars probe. So subsequently it’s higher to have the federal government do one thing like that, you know, like a heavy science program, fairly than attempt to gather small quantities of cash from everybody.

So I’m not any individual who’s kind of an excessive libertarian and thinks the federal government mustn’t do something, I simply suppose we must always decrease what the authorities does. As a result of the authorities’s effectivity at spending is simply going to be decrease than a aggressive industrial firm. By so much.

Should you take a look at, say, East Germany versus West Germany, or North Korea versus South Korea, and also you take a look at the GDP per capita of East and West Germany or North and South Korea, the distinction is gigantic. And that’s simply the distinction between East and West Germany.

It’s like a random line was drawn, mainly, relying on the place the Pink Military was and the place the Allied troops had been. And East Germany’s productiveness was not less than 5 occasions worse than West Germany’s. And it’s  not like West Germany was, like, some bastion of capitalism. They had been fairly socialist, actually. So there could also be as a lot as an order of magnitude distinction between the effectivity of a aggressive personal firm versus the federal government.

Joanna Stern

I’m going to shift away from authorities, come again to your world. Simply pondering about, kind of, the way you juggle Tesla and House X. And also you’ve mentioned alongside the way in which that the workload at Tesla is rather a lot. And I know now you might regain the chairman place. Have you considered that? Have you considered your, kind of, your title and your place there proper now?

Elon Musk

I imply, it’s fascinating, these titles. You know that there’s really solely three titles that truly imply something for a company? It’s president, secretary, and treasurer. And technically they are often the identical particular person. And all these different titles are simply mainly made up. So CEO is a made up title, CFO is a made up title. Common Counsel, a made up title. [Titles] Don’t imply something.

Joanna Stern

That’s superb. I believe a room of CEOs are… how we really feel about that? Yep?

Elon Musk

It was clearly simply any individual’s advertising and marketing experiment.

Joanna Stern

So I suppose I’ll be extra direct. Are you contemplating stepping down as CEO? Would you switch, be chairman, and take into consideration being chief product officer? Since CEO title doesn’t matter anyway…

Elon Musk

Nicely, I imply, technically I modified my title to Technoking. And by the way in which, it is a formal SEC submitting. I’m legally, or no matter, Technoking. I simply did that as type of like a joke, simply to point out that these titles don’t imply so much. You may see what is definitely legally needed if you happen to fill out the shape for making a C-Corp. And you then’ll see it’s president, treasurer and secretary. And also you want a director too. However that’s mainly it. After which all these different, you realize, chief no matter officer are mainly simply made up.

Joanna Stern

Is the Tesla Bot within the working for any of those titles?

Elon Musk

Not but. Possibly sooner or later.

Joanna Stern

However talking of the Tesla Bot, I do know you’ve talked concerning the significance of making this bot for the way forward for AI. Inform me a bit bit about the place you’re at with this venture and what we are able to anticipate within the subsequent coming months?

Elon Musk

Nicely, with the Tesla autopilot or full self-driving, we’re successfully, I believe, creating the most superior, sensible AI for navigating the true world. And you may nearly consider Tesla as, like, the world’s largest robotic firm. Or a semi-sentient robotic firm. The automotive is type of a robotic on 4 wheels. And so then we might in all probability take that very same expertise and put it in a humanoid robotic and have that robotic be helpful. So primarily to have the humanoid half, we have to develop some customized actuators and sensors after which primarily use the Tesla full self driving or autopilot or, simply typically talking, real-world navigation AI within the humanoid robotic.

And I believe this might be fairly profound. I don’t know precisely after we will get this proper, however we’ll get it proper.

Joanna Stern

And also you’ve mentioned additionally that it’s going to remedy some labor points. I imply, what are some issues that you just envision this bot doing?

Elon Musk

Nicely, it has the potential to be a generalized substitute for human labor over time. And the muse of the economic system is labor. I imply, capital gear is basically distilled labor. I requested a pal of mine really to say, you realize, simply, “What ought to we optimize for?”

And what he mentioned was gross revenue per worker. Totally thought of. So that you’ve acquired to incorporate the provision chain in that. The elemental constraint is labor. There are not sufficient individuals. I can’t emphasize this sufficient. There are usually not sufficient individuals. And I believe one of many largest dangers to civilization is the low birthrate and the quickly declining birthrate. And but so many individuals, together with sensible individuals, suppose that there are too many individuals on the planet and suppose that the inhabitants is rising out of management. It’s fully the other. Please take a look at the numbers. If individuals don’t have extra kids, civilization goes to crumble. Mark my phrases.

Joanna Stern

Is that this why you’ve so many kids?

Elon Musk

I’m making an attempt to set a superb instance. Yeah. You know, gotta follow what I preach.

Joanna Stern

I gained’t ask you to foretell what number of extra kids you’re going to have tonight, however I need to transfer on to some future discuss. That’s a part of the place I’m going with this Tesla Bot. I’m not pretty much as good at Twitter as you’re, however individuals on Twitter are asking me what’s going to occur on 12/9. Are you able to inform me what’s going to occur on 12/9?

Elon Musk

Nothing, so far as I do know. I don’t know the place this got here from. I believe this is only one of these memes that, I don’t know. It got here out of nowhere. However so far as I do know, nothing. However perhaps one thing will occur that I’m not conscious of.

Joanna Stern

All proper. So I need to ask now a bit bit farther out sooner or later, into 2022. And we can’t get to all of your future initiatives, however I thought a enjoyable method to do that is likely to be I’m going to call among the initiatives, I’m going to present you 60 seconds, and also you inform me what your plan is in 2022 to maneuver that venture alongside and what we are able to anticipate from it.

Elon Musk

Okay…

Joanna Stern

However 60 seconds. You solely get 60 seconds.

Elon Musk

Okay.

Joanna Stern

You going to do it? All proper, right here we…

Elon Musk

Positive…

Joanna Stern

…go. So the primary one is… maintain on. I believe I know find out how to work this Apple Watch. Sixty seconds and Cybertruck.

Elon Musk

Cybertruck. Cyber truck’s going to be an unbelievable product. I believe it could be our greatest product ever. I believe it in all probability will probably be. It has numerous new expertise, so it’s a tough automotive to make. However it will likely be superior. And I believe I’ve mentioned earlier than, however, you realize, we’re aiming for quantity manufacturing in 2023. And I’ll present a extra detailed product replace on the Tesla earnings name early subsequent yr. So I want it might be sooner, however that’s most certainly when it occurs. It’ll be one thing actually particular, simply a kind of uncommon merchandise that occurs every now and then that’s actually particular.

Joanna Stern

Okay. That was about 60 seconds. I don’t know what’s happening with my watch, however now we’re onto Neuralink.

Elon Musk

Okay. Okay, so…

Joanna Stern

Yeah, so the large query is in 2022, how are you pushing that venture alongside? What occurs?

Elon Musk

So Neuralink. Neuralink’s working properly in monkeys. And we’re clearly doing simply numerous testing. And simply confirming that it’s very secure and dependable and that the Neuralink system may be eliminated safely. Folks could have seen the demo that we revealed earlier this yr: the video of a monkey enjoying the videogame Pong telepathically utilizing the Neuralink in its mind.

And it’s fully wi-fi. Fees inductively. However mainly, the monkey appears fully regular. And but it’s enjoying a videogame telepathically. Which is, I believe, fairly profound. We hope to have this in our first people, which will probably be people who have extreme spinal twine accidents.

Like tetraplegics, quadriplegics, subsequent yr, pending FDA approval. And I ought to say, our requirements for implanting the system are considerably increased than what the FDA requires. Simply as our requirements for security with Tesla are a lot increased than what the U.S. authorities requires. And I’ve taken a little bit greater than 60 seconds.

Joanna Stern

Sure. I’m about to chop you off.

Elon Musk

As a result of I believe there’s one thing that’s, I believe, fairly cool. And I do need to say I’m, emphasis on, cautiously optimistic about this. I believe we’ve an opportunity, with Neuralink, of having the ability to restore full physique performance to somebody who has a spinal twine harm. Which means I believe we’ve an opportunity, I emphasize, an opportunity, of having the ability to permit somebody who can’t stroll or use their arms to have the ability to stroll once more. Naturally.

Joanna Stern

Okay. I’m not going to chop that. I can’t actually lower you off if you’re speaking about that. So…

Elon Musk

It’s an excellent large deal. And I don’t need to elevate hopes unreasonably, however I’m more and more satisfied that this may be achieved.

Joanna Stern

All proper. So the final one is Starship.

Elon Musk

Positive.

Joanna Stern

As a result of there’s so much occurring in 2022 on Starship, proper?

Elon Musk

Sure. Man. Starship is a tough, onerous, onerous, onerous venture. That is the largest rocket ever made. It’s going to have a thrust and mass double that of a Saturn V, which is the biggest rocket to succeed in orbit, and is meant to be totally and quickly reusable.

If we’re profitable with this, which I believe we will probably be, I don’t know if we will probably be there in 2022. I hope so. This can be a profound revolution in entry to orbit. There has by no means been a completely reusable orbital launch car. That is the holy grail of house expertise.

It’s the basic breakthrough that’s needed for humanity to grow to be an area civilization. This absorbs extra of my psychological vitality than in all probability any different single factor. However it’s so preposterously tough that there are occasions the place I ponder whether we are able to really do this.

Joanna Stern

And if you happen to needed to summarize in a short time, what’s so onerous about it for only a regular particular person to know? What’s so onerous about it?

Elon Musk

Nicely, this’ll take much more than 60 seconds, however…

Joanna Stern

However now I’m so .

Elon Musk

Okay. Nicely…

Joanna Stern

Oh, no…

Elon Musk

Okay, so. Okay. I’m overdue for doing a Starship replace. So we dwell in a planet the place the gravity is definitely very sturdy. We really dwell on the densest planet within the photo voltaic system. Our ambiance could be very thick. And what this comes right down to is, you realize, a typical orbital rocket would possibly be capable to put about 2% of its liftoff mass into orbit. After which that is with sensible individuals making an attempt onerous. Possibly 2, 2.5%. And no rocket, to the very best of my data, has ever gotten above 4% of its liftoff mass to orbit. So with a view to make a rocket totally reusable, you’ve acquired to mainly create a rocket that may do about 4%, if no more than 4%, of its liftoff mass to orbit. Which hasn’t occurred earlier than.

So which means it’s important to have mainly A+s throughout the board. Extremely environment friendly engines, extremely environment friendly construction. You do want scale, as a result of there are some efficiencies of scale. That’s a part of why Starship is so gigantic.

As a result of, for instance, the mind of the rocket actually weighs about the identical if it’s a small rocket or an enormous rocket. So with the large rocket, you get to have the avionics be, mainly, we spherical right down to 0%. Or be inconsequential within the mass of the car. Then it’s good to make an extremely gentle warmth protect. And there are such a lot of issues that must be achieved to have each the booster and the higher stage, or shuttle, be reusable. Insanely tough. Many tremendous sensible individuals have tried to do that earlier than and nobody has succeeded.

And more often than not they’ve simply given up half method via. But when full and fast reusability may be achieved, it reduces the price of entry to orbit by an element of a hundred or extra. So…

Joanna Stern

So extra of us…

Elon Musk

…it’s identical to…

Joanna Stern

…might go. Finally…

Elon Musk

Yeah, it’s like an plane. Think about if an plane, or a automotive, or any type of transport was not reusable. Think about if you happen to had to purchase a brand new airplane each time you flew. That will make air flight insanely expertise. Or a automotive, if you happen to needed to get a brand new automotive each time you drove someplace, that might be unbelievably costly, versus merely refueling it.

So we’ve acquired to get rockets to the purpose the place we merely refuel the rocket and we don’t throw it away. And with Falcon 9, we’ve managed to make the booster reusable and the fairing nostril cone reusable.

However with Starship, we’re hoping to make the entire thing reusable. That is profound. Like I mentioned, it’s the distinction between humanity being a single planet species and a multi-planet species. It’s actually that large of a deal.

Joanna Stern

All proper. Nicely, Elon, they’re working the clock down on me, so I need to ask you one final query after which we’ll attempt to go to not less than one or two viewers questions. I needed to ask you a bit bit about humor. You’re a fairly humorous man. You present it on Twitter a lot. You’ve hosted SNL. And I’m questioning how that performs into your administration fashion. Would your co-workers say you’re humorous? Is this one thing you’re, kind of, bringing to the workplace now? Has it helped with managing your groups?

Elon Musk

I imply, I believe I’m humorous. I discover my jokes humorous. I don’t know. I suppose, yeah. I do crack numerous jokes. They don’t all land, however I’m aspirationally humorous. So, yeah. We attempt to have a superb humorousness on the workplace too. Yeah.

Joanna Stern

You already know, I additionally needed to ask that recently on Twitter, you’ve been poking enjoyable at individuals for his or her age fairly a bit. And I needed to have a way of, do you not plan to age? And the way are you combating getting old? Is there some secret expertise we don’t find out about that you just’ve acquired?

Elon Musk

I’m not conscious of any secret expertise to fight getting old. And I don’t know that we must always actually attempt to dwell for an excellent very long time. I believe it’s important for us to die as a result of more often than not, individuals don’t change their thoughts, they only die.

And so if we dwell perpetually, then we would grow to be a really ossified society the place new concepts can’t succeed. However I’m not poking enjoyable at getting old, I’m simply saying, if we’ve acquired individuals in essential positions which have to make selections which might be vital to the safety of the nation, then they should have enough presence of thoughts and cognitive potential to make these selections properly. As a result of the entire nation’s relying on them.

Joanna Stern

Nicely, I believed you would possibly say psychedelics had been your method of not getting old, however I wish to simply go if anybody’s acquired one or two questions for this man…

Elon Musk

I don’t suppose bumping acid makes you age much less. So. I believe medication totally make you age extra, not much less. However…

Joanna Stern

All proper. Any? Okay. Nicely, Elon, thanks a lot for being with us right here tonight. Oh, there’s a query. Sorry. I didn’t see any fingers up.

Viewers Member

Thanks. Bal Das, from BGD Holdings. First, let me thanks for what you’re doing by way of your breakthrough for humanity. However I’m inquisitive about your views on China. And the United States. Simply on a free-flowing foundation, if you happen to need to share a number of ideas.

Elon Musk

Yeah. I imply, I believe we’re at an fascinating level in historical past the place america has been the world’s largest economic system for as lengthy as anybody can bear in mind. And I believe the U.S. grew to become the biggest economic system, I don’t know, in all probability 120, 130 years in the past. And there’s no one actually anymore who can bear in mind a time when america was not the world’s largest economic system. Now, we’re heading in the direction of the state of affairs the place China’s going to in all probability have an economic system two to a few occasions the scale of the United States.

And in order that’s only a completely different world. I do suppose there are lots of people within the authorities in China who type of grew up with China being a small economic system. And perhaps who really feel like China was pushed round so much. However they haven’t totally appreciated the truth that China is de facto going to be the large child on the block.

And so if you happen to’re going to be the large child on the block, you possibly can actually be fairly chill about issues. Different nations are usually not actually a menace to you, if you happen to’re by far the largest child on the block. So I’d say that’s type of an vital mind-set change hopefully that China goes via.

Is simply, you realize, to suppose, how would you need the largest child on the block to behave? And if you’ll be the largest child on the block, then wouldn’t you need to behave such as you would have needed the largest child on the block to behave? I believe that’s fairly vital. Total, I believe Tesla has a superb relationship with China. And I don’t imply to endorse all the pieces that China does any greater than I’d, say, endorse all the pieces america does. Or any nation. However total, I believe we’re headed to an fascinating and completely different world. And I hope that we are able to keep in mind that we’re all human beings and let’s simply strive to have as optimistic a relationship as doable and work in the direction of mutual prosperity of humanity as a complete.

Joanna Stern

Nicely, Elon, thanks a lot for being right here tonight. Or the place you’re. And thanks, everyone. And we hope to see you subsequent yr.