It's Personal with Musk

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/15/tesla-asked-cooley-to-fire-l…
A lawyer for Tesla asked a law firm to fire one of its attorneys or risk losing its work for the electric automaker, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The lawyer at Cooley LLP worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during a probe of Tesla CEO Elon Musk that led to a $20 million fine and Musk’s removal as Tesla chairman.

A human foible of pettiness in which a billionaire directs his ire toward a former federal employee who was doing his job. The employee is a new hire that has associate status. I expect he will be out the door shortly. Will the Musk black mark mean he will be unable to find employment with another major firm? Will federal lawyers take to heart the future risk of prosecuting any of Musk endeavors?

It would seem that income inequality can lead to privilege inequality as well as billionaires become entitled like lords of old. And how does that development affect a nation’s economy?

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It would seem that income inequality can lead to privilege inequality as well as billionaires become entitled like lords of old. And how does that development affect a nation’s economy?

In another place, I posted about a person who escaped prosecution for fraud by the simple expedient of writing a $25,000 check.

Because ideology says everything must be rationed by ability to pay.

As for Musk pressuring a vendor, typical “JC” behavior. Several studies have shown that many CEOs are sociopaths.

Steve

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My preferred outcome:

The lawyer resigns, gracefully.

Then hires the firm to sue Musk for damages for lost income, loss of reputation, inability to secure employment elsewhere, amounting to several millions of dollars.

Then the jury decides to make an example, and awards $1 billion in punitive damages.

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At the time the lawyer was at the SEC whether his decision was right or wrong it had to be made.

The thing is if you mess enough with your boss you are gone. That is life.

If I pay you do not mess with me.

Anyone thinking exceptions are made is kidding themselves. It is a nonstarter with a smart boss. He is not there to pay people and take crap from them.

Musk has the right to resign the firm from his business, but that does not extend to telling the firm which lawyers it may or may not hire.

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Lets step back and look at it from a little different perspective.

A senior FBI official finds evidence that a wealthy business man may have committed fraud/treason, and the senior FBI official authorizes an investigation of the wealthy business man.

Will the wealthy businessman put a black mark on the senior FBI official so that he will not be to stay at the FBI and be unable to find other employment? Will senior FBI officials take to heart the future risk of prosecuting any of the wealthy businessman’s future endeavors?

Jaak

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Musk has the right to resign the firm from his business, but that does not extend to telling the firm which lawyers it may or may not hire.

Whether the lawyer has a legal cause of action against this Don Corleone extortion I don’t know, but I certainly hope so. Chinese authorities brought Jack Ma to heel, it would be great if we had some way of doing that with our billionaires who don’t think their **** stinks and they can do anything they want.

Goofy,

When you are of the opinion that someone else is an idiot that truly entertains people here. Good for you.

Musk has a “right” to make whatever demands of the law firm he wants he is paying them. I did not say the lawyer was employed by Musk. The law firm decides what it wants to do.

Equating Chinese law and top down centralized economic control to US law? And you think I am the idiot? Not sure where you got your law degree, China? Or somewhere in the Caribbean? I can not get that slow for you. LOL

Now the real point, lawyers are trained to deal with the law. Not with Musk’s power grab over one demand. Meaning most lawyers working at a government agency will do ethically and professionally what the work requires. This thread begins with an insult thinking that Musk will change the nature of being a lawyer working for the government. That is very insulting the profession.

There are lawyers and there are lawyers, just as there are doctors and there are doctors. Do not assume the professions need to sell their soul just because Musk pulled someone’s chain. It does not work that way. That is a simpleton’s point of view for an entire profession.

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A senior FBI official finds evidence that a wealthy business man may have committed fraud/treason, and the senior FBI official authorizes an investigation of the wealthy business man.

Will the wealthy businessman put a black mark on the senior FBI official so that he will not be to stay at the FBI and be unable to find other employment? Will senior FBI officials take to heart the future risk of prosecuting any of the wealthy businessman’s future endeavors?

Jaak

There are bureaucratic rules at the FBI defending against that.

Some years ago discussing such legal matters in my state with two lawyers in the AG’s office it was an eyeopener how many legal protections against just these sorts of things that government workers have.

https://news.trust.org/item/20220116235806-x0sea

Super-rich thrive as COVID-19 pushes millions into poverty

A new billionaire has been created every 26 hours during the pandemic, deepening the world’s wealth divides

The world’s 10 wealthiest people more than doubled their fortunes to $1.5 trillion during the pandemic as poverty rates soared, according to a study released by a charity on Monday ahead of a high-profile World Economic Forum (WEF) event.

In 2023, per capita incomes are likely to remain below 2019 levels in 40 developing countries, the bank says.

Inequality is contributing to the death of at least 21,300 people each day - one person every four seconds, according to Oxfam’s report.

The wealthiest 1% of the world emits more than twice as much planet-warming carbon dioxide as the bottom 50%.

I don’t believe this is a good development/trend. Though likely it is my envy talking. LOL

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I don’t believe this is a good development/trend. Though likely it is my envy talking. LOL

tj,

Depends are they fossil fuel billionaires being rewarded? Or are they tech billionaires making things more productive?

Both are happening. Both are no where near being equal in benefiting the human race.

Musk is doing great things with EV and batteries and then turning around and doing many things that are very damaging to the environment with Space X. But Space X has a reusable rocket and can do a great deal of good.

If you get lemons make lemonade.

Musk ain’t no one’s angel. Neither are any of you nor myself.

It would seem that income inequality can lead to privilege inequality as well as billionaires become entitled like lords of old. And how does that development affect a nation’s economy?

- tjscott

It’s not for nothing that David Sirota kept Elon Musk in mind when modeling the sociopathic CEO of Bash Cellular for his film “Don’t Look Up.”

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There are bureaucratic rules at the FBI defending against that.

Some years ago discussing such legal matters in my state with two lawyers in the AG’s office it was an eyeopener how many legal protections against just these sorts of things that government workers have.

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How are Comey and McCabe doing with all that protection?

Jaak

How are Comey and McCabe doing with all that protection?

Jaak


If you remember Trump was impeached.

At the level of president the recourse gets very limited, and yet an impeachment.

The laws are specifically to ward off a Trump like rampage. Most people with any inclinations like that in an elected executive position do not get far down that road. Trump pushed through any and all, but did not get reelected. He then got into worse trouble and was impeached after an election loss.
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I am old enough to remember when Bill Gates was a “sociopath”.

It explained a lot of wannabee billionaires.

Or was it explained to me by a lot of wannabee Bill Gates?

Anyway these days Bill Gates is in favor with the public.

Poor Bezos and Musk have our complete disdain.

Do not turn around fifteen years from now. Because your memory will be forgotten.

Seriously until Musk sits down with a trained psychiatrist in an office and gets his diagnosis…blog articles are not like scripture.

Such a diagnosis would not be public anyway. Most of us can not be trusted with blog articles never mind medical records.

Let’s up the quality of the discussion please.

Please remove this post Mentions political figure by name ,against the rules of the board.

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That was about the law not politics.

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Turns out even Musk cannot buy everything, subservient compliance by SEC employees in this case. Doesn‘t preclude him from throwing a tantrum, of course:

Cooley has reportedly refused to fire an associate at the behest of its client Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, and it is apparently losing some Tesla business as a result, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. … The associate was not working on any Tesla matters.

Court documents indicate that Tesla has been taking steps to replace Cooley or to hire additional lawyers.

Law.com interviewed several past leaders of large law firms for their take on Cooley’s stance. They applauded Cooley’s refusal to fire the associate. …

https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cooley-is-praised-fo…

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