00:00:02
Speaker 1: We will continue on a remorse this mission to squeeze Russia from the global economy piece by piece, day by day and week by week. One thing, of course, he could also do to make an open and unconditional offer to Ukrainian refugees. The House and United kick we haven't seen all of what Juken's going to do. At the moment, we do not know what is in God. You're listening to Bloomberg Westminster, your daily guide to British politics. I'm you and Potts. Good afternoon, I'm Stephen Carroll. Today's program a little different than usual. That's as voters in Triton and Handan and Wakefield go to the polls today into by elections, so that means for a change when we're bringing you some of our best interviews of the week from outside the world of politics. Coming up, we'll be hearing from Bloomberg's exclusive conversation with Ellen Musk and we'll be discussing the UK trial of the four day working week. Meanwhile, it's the second day of major strike action this week on Britain's railways. Some forty workers are walking off the job in a dispute over pay and conditions. The RMT union is pressing for high pay and a commitment to no compulsory redundancies, but talks on Wednesday didn't find an agreement with the UK's thirteen train operating companies companies and government owned track and stations operator Network Rail. So as a result, just one in five trains are running around Britain today, with services that are starting later and finishing earlier. Special arrangements have been put in place to cater for those heading to the Glastonbury Festival. Well, the twentieth century created the five day working week as we know it is the twenty one century going to see us working fewer days, especially after the pandemic. Well, the UK is conducting the biggest experiment yet of a four day working week. Thousands of workers from seventy companies are taking part in a six month trial which starts this month. There are also pilot schemes taking place in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Earlier, Carolyn hepcar and I spoke to the woman's spearheading the project, Charlotte Lockhart, managing director and founder of Four Day Week Global. The goal is to reduce work time, but but not without a focus on productivity and without and certainly not including reducing pay. Okay, why does the full tape work? We help business. So what we teach our businesses when we take them through the pilot programmers focusing on what is your productive outcome that you truly need, be clear about that and communicate it well, agree it with your people and so therefore what we're looking to do is keep your business as productive but allow your people to go home. Now it's a it is about well being, but it is also recognizing that the business needs to remain productive. How are you hoping to measure what data you're hoping to produce them from trials to be able to approve that case. So on the productivity side of things, we allow businesses to choose the measures that best suit them. You know, you're you're going to improve something that that you're measuring in a way that suits you. But there are standard productivity measures that we also include in there. So we have a research project that the framework is designed out of Boston College by Dr Juliet Shaw and it is here in the UK being activated by Cambridge University. We also have Oxford University looking at elements of it for us and in our Canadian and US pilot second of which is happening later in the year UM that has run out of Boston College. Yeah. Absolutely, so that the trial here in the UK's between June and November. She said, they're pilot schemes in other parts of the world. Well, has been the feedback that you've had so far? I mean, is it working at post pandemic? We've seen the great resignation now this big experiment with the full day work. We what are companies and individuals telling you? Well, so interestingly, the UK is the market where there are thousands of companies doing this already. There's been high uptake for it and even in our pilot program we did have three thousands, three hundred, but one of our companies has decided to put another five US and employees onto the program. So after going through the scoping of it, they've decided that it's quite possible for them to add more of their employees in. So this is what companies are finding and what we expect the research to show us is that this is the best team building exercise that you will ever do. And most business owners, one of the things they say is they say two things. One, it's easier than you think, and it's the best thing they've ever done. That was Charlotte Lockhart's managing director and founder of Four Day week Global, speaking to us on Bloomberg Radio earlier. Now, if you're involved in Westminster politics, you'll know how the bubble thrives on Twitter drama. So now let's turn to the person who's trying to buy the social media platform something who definitely doesn't work a four day week, and that is Elon Musk. He spoke exclusively to Bloomberg's editor in chief John Michael Thwaite at the cut Our Economic Forum, the Testa founder joining the event via video conference. Now. The two covered a wide range of topics in their conversation, including Musks stands on cryptocurrencies, that competition facing Tesla for electric vehicles from traditional carmakers like Foxwagen, and how artificial intelligence could be regulated. But the conversation started with a question about his bid to buy Twitter. He's Elon Mosque speaking to John. Make of wait, there's a limit to what I can say publicly given that is um somewhat of a sensitive matter. Um, So I will actually be measured in my responses here um, such as not to generate incremental lawsuits. Um. Un that seems to be a risk you sometimes managed to overcome. Yes, deposition minimization is I think important? Have you have? Have Twitter given you enough information? Well, there are still a few unresolved matters you've You've probably read about the question as to whether the number of fake and spam users on the system is less than five the center as to claim, which I think is probably not most people's experience on when using Twitter. UM So, we're still a waiting resolution on that matter. Um. And that that is a very significant matter. Um So we're waiting resolution on that. And then of course there is the question of will the dead portion of the round come together? And then will the shareholders vote in favor? So I think those are the three things that um standard you know, if that needs to be resolved before the transaction can complete. What about the general state of the economy? Does that weigh on you when you think about this? I mean you just described it. You have a super bad feeling about the economy. Are you still in that position? I just said you earlier. Joe Biden has just come out and said that a recession in America is not inevitable. How do you feel about the economy. Well, think a recession is inevitable at some point. As to whether there is a reception in the near term, um, I think that is more likely than not. Certainly isn't. It's not a certainty, but it appears more likely than not. And what do you think? I'm I'm I'm with you. I agree with you. I think it's more likely. Can I ask you one particular thing to do with the Twitter bid, which is you know you are one of the biggest and fastest growing investors in China Tesla. You've talked about it being a third of your sales going forward. You're now buying Twitter, the kind of public forum for free speech. The Chinese historically don't tend to be very enthusiastic about free speech. Are you worried about whether you can keep those two particular horses running. Is buying Twitter going to get you in trouble with the Chinese? Well? Twitter does not operate in China, so um, and I think China does not attempt to interview interfere with the free speech of the press in the US as far as I know, because I assume you're not under pressure to Ed Bloomberg to UH from China. So I think there's UM, I don't think it's gonna be an issue. And in terms generally of that issue of freedom and speech and Twitter, you've talked about Twitter being making it even freer and letting more people onto it. Um. Is there a limit at all to to who you think should be allowed on Twitter? Well, my aspiration for Twitter, or in general for the digital town square would be that it is as inclusive in the broader sense the word as possible. UM, that it is is an appealing system to use. UM. So I mean, ideally I'd like to get like eight of UH that's in North America and perhaps I don't know half the world or something ultimately on on Twitter in in one form or another. And that needs That means it must be something that is appealing to people. It obviously cannot be a place where they feel uncomfortable or harassed, um, or they will simply not use it. So UM. And I think there's there's there's a big difference between freedom and speech and freedom of reach UM. And that one can obviously let's say and I say, let's go in the middle of the time square and pretty much yell anything you want, and you know you'll you'll annoy the people around you. But but you're you're you're kind of allowed to just sort of yell whatever you want to in in you know, a crowded public place more or less apart from this is this is a robbery probab that would get you in trouble. Um. So uh but but then that that whatever you say, how a controversial does not need to then be broadcast to the whole country. So I think generally the approach of Twitter should be to let people say what they want to do within the bounds of the law, but then limit the you know who sees that based on the uh any given Twitter user preferences. So if your preferences are to see anything or read anything, then well you'll get that. And if but if your preferences are, well, you prefer not to see, uh, you know, comments that you find offensive in one form or another, then you you can have that as a setting and not see it. And uh. But I think when we're another we need to take the steps that and that that entice most people to want to be on Twitter and enjoy it and find it informative and entertaining and funny, you know, and just something and useful as useful as possible. It sounds like you want to be involved. Is your plan to be CEO of Twitter? And if you do that, would you still keep being CEO of Tesla and SpaceX? Well? I I would drive the product, which is what I do with SpaceX and Tesla. Um So I drive the product and technology. Whether I am that when I'm called the CEO or something else is much less important than my ability to drive the product in the right direction. Can you can? You can you set the record straight on one thing, which is this issue about the layoffs. I think you said initially that Tesla ten percent of the workforce would be cut, then ten percent of salary would be cut, then salaried would stay flight flat, and overall head camp would go up. What is the number? I know there's already I think being a lawsuit about the ten percent? Is ten percent the goal to reduce the workforce or what is the number that we should think about? Well that you're planning, yes, so it tess that is reducing the salary workforce are roughly ten percent over the next probably three months or so. UM the we expect to grow our hourly workforce. Act quite clear that we expect to grow our hourly workforce. But we uh, we grew very fast with on the on the salary side, um, and we grew a little too fast in some areas, and so it requires reduction in salary workforce. And we're about two thirds uh hourly in one third salary. So I guess technically attempt cent reduction in the salaried workforce is only properly a three three and a half percent reduction in total headcount. Now, I think I think that number is important legally, isn't it? Because I think people are trying to say, if you if you're going to lay off ten percent of your workforce, you have, even in America to make an announcement about that. We did make an announcement. Um. Yes, UM, let's not read too much into a preemptive lawsuit that has no standing. Um that that that that is a smaller lawsuit of minor consequence. That just anything that related to Tesla gets big headlines. But it is whether it is, um, you know, a bicycle accident or something much more serious. It's it seems like anything you're related it Tesla gets a lot of cliques, whether whether it is trivial or significant. I would put that lawsuit form too, in the trivial category. Um, so you have from now, I think our headcount will be higher in both salary and obviously in hourly UM. But in the short term of the next few months, we expect to see, like I said, rough the tempicide reduction in UH salary salaried workforce, which is actually just really only three or three and a half percent reduction in total headcount and not a supermaterial should we jump to that law that that third elon Musk, the the uncontroversial one. In politics, You've indicated that the Florida Governor Rhnda Santis is someone you could get behind if he ran for president. I wondered if you're still in that position, and whether you would, for instance, think about supporting Donald Trump if he were to run. Well, I was simply asked, um, if there was UM if I had decided on on who I would be supporting in the next presidential race, and I s had I had not decided if I would support, then I was asked, well, who might you be leaning towards? I said, possibly the Scantis. And now now I'm asking you about Trump, whether you would consider him. Um, I think I'm I decided at this point on that election. I wanted you. You talked about putting money behind a supermoderate super pac in the US, and I wondered, how much money do you think you're going to put into that? What kind of support would you push? I have not decided on an amount, but it would be something some non trovial figure I think, Um, I mean at least sort of on the non trivial could mean a lot. Sorry, non trivial could mean a lot of money. With you, I was guessing, well, I don't know. I've not decided on the exact amount, but um, perhaps would be twenty or twenty five million dollars just on that issue. I mean, again, you look at the Santa, what the Santis says, You look at what Trump says. UM, and those sort of politicians, they again are people who make a large noise about China. And I wondered whether you thought that was also an issue for you in terms of business in China. UM, well, no, I don't think so. You're a brave man, is can I can I ask you? Over the weekend, you you tweeted your support of one cryptocurrency. You've seen the kind of carnage that has been happening in cryptocurrencies at the moment um. What is happening and do you still think people should should invest or is it a more selective approach? Well, I have never said that people should invest in crypto. UM in the case of Tesla, space X, yourself, um uh you know we are the SpaceX and tells on myself all did buy some bodcoin UM, but it's a small percentage of our total cash and near cash assets, so um, you know, not not a less significant UM. I also bought some dose coin, and Tesla accepts dose coin for some motiond ice and space X will do the same. And and I intend to personally support a dose coin because I just have a lot of people who are not that wealthy, who you know, have encourage me to buy and support those coins. So I'm responding to that those people are just people that are want to walk around the factor we had SpaceX or Tesla. They've asked me to support those coins. So I'm drinking so because point I think has come down a lot. It's down about it's down a lot, and that's the reason why you you came out and said that you still thought there was value there. I said, I support and I am doing that. Can I ask you one last question, is I noticed that you you're going to unleash a humanoid robot to be unveiled on septe UM. I wonder there's anything more you could tell us about that. Well, I hope that we will have an interesting product type to show people, UM that we're very chalsy. Team at Tesla that I'm working with closely two have a product type human right robot ready by unit September, and I think we are tracking to that point. So that and I'll be a few other exciting things that we talked about it that tells an idea, UM, but I really wanna you know, we have these sort of a I d UM events too, just emphasize that tells those a lot more than a car company, and that we are, in my view, the leading real world AI company that exists. Were you were you? Did you see at all the drama about the Google where tweet where people at least one engineer thought that what was happening in terms of their AI machinery was closer to human thought than had been seen before and quite worry had a personality. Is that something that you think about at all and or you worry about UM. I think I think we should be concerned about AI, and I said for a long time, and I think they ought to be an AI regulatory agency that oversees artificial intelligence for the public good UM. And I think just as there's anything that for anything that where there is a risk to the public, whether that's a autent Drug Administration or Federal Aviation Administration, Communications Commission, whether it's a public grad school for public gooded stay there there, there's good to have sort of a government referee UM and a regulatory body. And I think we should have that for AI, and we done currently And that would be my recommendation. That was Elon Musk speaking to Bloomberg's editor in chief John Nickothwaite at the Catar Economic Forum. Well that's it for today's show. Tomorrow, we'll be back discussing politics and we'll bring the results of those by elections in Tivitan and Honington and in Wakefield. This is big back