Jan 27, 2017

Elon Musk: Talking to Trump is better than fighting him

Kim Hart, author of Cities

AP

In a Twitter exchange with Gizmodo, Elon Musk explained why he is engaging with President Trump on issues even when they don't necessarily see eye to eye — and why others should, too.

When asked why Musk was confident Trump would be open to a carbon tax when he considers global warming to be a hoax, Musk said:

You are missing the point. This is something we need to strive for and the more voices of reason that the President hears, the better. Simply attacking him will achieve nothing. Are you aware of a single case where Trump bowed to protests or media attacks? Better that there are open channels of communication. — Elon Musk

Why he spoke up: Tech leaders such as Musk and Uber's Travis Kalanick have taken some heat for participating in administration advisory roles, even sparking a protest outside Uber's headquarters on the day of Trump's inauguration.

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Axios
Updated 19 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 12,220,166 — Total deaths: 553,438 — Total recoveries — 6,696,632 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 3,111,902 — Total deaths: 133,195 — Total recoveries: 969,111 — Total tested: 38,032,966 — Map.
  3. Public health: More young people are spreading the virus — Cases rise in 33 states — Florida reports highest single-day death toll since pandemic began.
  4. Science: World Health Organization acknowledges airborne transmission of coronavirus.
  5. 1 🐂 thing: How the world could monitor for potential pandemic animal viruses.
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Axios
2 hours ago - Podcasts

Inside Joe Biden's economic plan

Joe Biden on Thursday returned to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to give his first major speech on economic policy since becoming the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

Axios Re:Cap digs into Biden's plans, how they developed and how they may change, with former U.S. Commerce secretary and campaign surrogate Penny Pritzker.

Dave Lawler
2 hours ago - World

Countries grapple with whether to lock back down as hotspots emerge

Tokyo in the time of coronavirus. Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty

Many politicians and public health officials sounded a similar lockdown refrain in the spring: let’s do this right so we only have to do it once.

Reality check: While some countries have thus far managed to keep cases under control after opening up, dozens of countries that had initially turned a corner are now seeing a worrying rebound. They have to decide if and how to return to lockdown — and whether their populations will stand for it.

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