Strike at carmaker prompts sympathy action from dockers, painters and postal workers in fight over Swedish labour model
Elon Musk has decried a wave of “insane” strikes focused on Tesla workshops in Sweden, as workers target the US electric car manufacturer in a strike calling for collective bargaining rights.
In what has been portrayed as the largest fight in decades to save Sweden’s union model from global labour practices, the powerful trade union IF Metall has been leading a strike across eight Tesla workplaces in Sweden for five weeks.
It is the first time workers for the US carmaker have gone on strike and on Thursday, Musk, the tech billionaire and chief executive of Tesla, made his feelings clear, writing on X, formerly Twitter: “This is insane.”
Literally made his money on exploitation and lies. SpaceX is amazing, but built on much smarter minds; he was just the wallet. And he bought Tesla and has been lying and overpromising since he did.
I feel like if someone is insane, it must be Musk, trying to circumvent the unions in a Nordic country, which have one some of the strongest unions and union culture in the world.
Typical rich person mentality. How easily they forget they don’t create wealth in a vacuum. People are only that rich off the hard work of other people
To me, proof that Elon Musk is a doofus and not as smart as he thinks he is, is that he had this public persona of "real life Iron Man" billionaire playboy thing going, and within just a couple years his public image has become "douche bag with too much money". Obviously that one is way closer to reality, which is exactly my point.
Someone with half a brain would have hired a PR team to keep the original image intact for as long as possible, but he's so egotistical and so prideful and so oblivious he thinks he can let his real self on display and that'll just carry him
I think most people are at a point where they only really want to know what he's up to to make fun of him.
Let's appreciate the insanity of opening factories in countries with some of the best unions and laws supporting unions and then doing a pikachu face when those unions go and decide to bust your kneecaps for essentially abusing the workers... Elon why did you even open a factory in sweden? It was obvious from the beginning this would happen.
I mean, he makes several hundred times what any of those workers make. That's because his labor is just soooo much more valuable than anything they could do, should be easy for him do all their work too, right?...right?
Yeah, just a friendly reminder that no rich person is "self-made." Their wealth (especially billionaires) is built off the backs of hundreds, often thousands of exploited workers, combined with favors and handouts from the government.
I love watching Musk screech and scream while his ass gets clapped by unions, keep it up!
I’m an American that hasn’t been to many other countries, but Sweden is fortunately one of them. The culture is different from what I’m used to, and it boils down to respecting the dignity of the people around you, and in the process respecting yourself as well.
So, it’s very nice to see the solidarity of the workers, but also not surprising. In a good way.
Poor guy. It must be so difficult watching his workers joining together to demand their fair share of his company’s profits. It’d be a real shame if workers in other countries follow suit. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to be a billionaire. Those poor bastards.
Yes, it is insane to go against unions in a country with a high degree of unionisation, where collective bargaining agreements are signed exactly because they prevent industrial unrest by ensuring the relationship between management and workers isn't adverserial.
I mean, I say it's insane, but let's be honest. Musk is yet another arrogant American CEO who didn't do his research on how things work in non-domestic markets. It's as much stupidity and arrogance, as it is insanity. Imagine thinking you somehow know better than companies like McDonalds (who did sign agreements with unions).
Musk seems like the kind of guy who thinks about the Roman Empire entirley too much. So it's surprising that he's never heard of the expression 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.'
This is insane .... If it weren't for workers unions and advocates for human rights and regulating big corporations, I'd have all of you working as indentured slave laborers working for bread and water just to keep you alive for my benefit!
If money is just a high score for you and you can literally buy whatever you want, of course a strike is "insane". It's just money, right? Why are they mad?