Thread from May 22, 2022

How I spent my birthday this year, no regrets

May 22nd is my birthday. I was born on a Sunday in 1966 and this year it was a Sunday again. Not that I had nothing else to do that day. It happened to be between the US (the 8th), the German (the 15th) and the French Mother's Day (the 29th), and somehow, as a mother of five young adults with French and German parents and living in the USA, it could/should have been all about me.

And yet, for days, I had been assembling my thoughts and was ready to publish my first Twitter thread. Sharing it with my 2,700 followers then. You all know this feeling, when you are scared to put it out there, yet determined to do it. This thread started to kick off my little Twitter fame and today ten times more Tesla fans follow what the crazy Tesla Boomer Mama writes.

Yet little did I know then, nor plan. It just had to be written. And now, six months later, I still feel very strong about it, so will republish it today here. Thank you for reading it again.

🧵 1/14

@elonmusk

Please let me share my two cents on the much-needed offensive strategy to protect you and your companies. Let me clarify that I have no pretentions to know better than you and your team. I am worried. For you. Nothing to do with the stock. It's about you.

2/14

You commented on the fatigue the public had for Trump's controversies which made him lose the 2020 elections. Let's not go there with the important messages you have for the world. The success of Starlink in Ukraine and your interest in Twitter put a target on your back.

3/14

To sum it up 1.YES, to a hardcore proactive legal team. Go get them, and hard. The more, the better. 2.And at the same time YES to a small, highly professional communications team. I know you fear this is adding fuel to the fire. Hear me out, please.

4/14

Building a legal team will keep most on their toes. It will not stop all. You need to be ahead of the curve to control the narrative early. Don't leave the public space open to your opponents because you can't be reached, or a tweet might not fit or be misinterpreted.

5/14

Set the rules from the start: The Communication Team will reply to all requests, never spread lies or misinformation, all will always be data and evidence based. If media twists or spreads FUD, legal team will take IMMEDIATE action. (thanks @c4chaos)

6/14

Now with you involved in creating the best town square, public opinion becomes increasingly important. Your intention to purchase Twitter hit the nerve of the happy few that have controlled for far too long the narratives in the United States and the Western Nations.

7/14

By buying Twitter or getting into a lawsuit (discovery) with them, you will find out who has been pulling the strings for years. You know that the same have been deciding what is every day's talking point, what gets pushed under the rug, who can communicate and who cannot.

8/14

The ESG rating fiasco was no coincidence and a dire warning displaying how dirty they fight. S&P proved to be fully under the control and influence of these same elites. You and Martin reacted to something that should have been prepared or could have been avoided.

9/14

If the "panicked elites" and your competitors influence regulators and media enough, the overall image of your companies will be hurt, but more importantly key governmental positions will be influenced to delay regulatory approvals, especially for full self-driving.

10/14

Walter Isaacson wrote "you have become the most important single individual in designing and deploying the innovations that will bring us a few steps closer to each of these aspirations (make life on earth sustainable, bring us to space and ensure AI will be beneficial)".

11/14

Emma Goldman said "The most violent element in society is ignorance" (@connectingodots) so we need to ensure the message of the communication team educates and fights ignorance. Get the message out clearly, without getting you burned or hurting the mission.

12/14

I have heard from fund managers who cannot reach anyone at Tesla for comments. Same seems to be true for the media. Press included "we reached out and did not receive an answer". May be true, maybe not, but while you don't have a PR department, they have the last word.

13/14

And most importantly, you want to ensure that your message keeps being heard correctly for recruitment of the best team members in all your companies. That these employees stay, are happy and proud to read about their employer in the media.

14/14

So yes, please fight. Fight on both fronts. And concentrate on what you do best: Engineering and making this a better world and universe. Good luck with the recruitments. Find the best!

With all my gratitude, Alexandra

PS.: there was a follow up article three weeks ago, which you can read here.