Elon Musk ushered in a new era for entrepreneurs: there are no overly sensitive topics that would be off limits for a chief executive.
Basically, bosses are part of society and should not be afraid to take a stand even on issues that could hurt their bottom line. It is the end of the political neutrality of companies, which is, according to the Techno King, in line with the evolution of society towards an economy dominated by influencers and which is witnessing the emergence of the economy of creators.
Musk's philosophy is that everyone is a walking brand.
As a result, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) uses his platform to draw attention to issues he considers important and pressing for humanity. He believes that bosses must be engaged, because it is in line with their duty to develop products and services that will transform the world. He has made this social responsibility his leitmotif with interesting results.
On one hand, the tech mogul has managed to establish himself as one of the most influential voices on the world geopolitical scene thanks to Starlink, the internet access service developed by SpaceX, his aerospace company. The service is the only communication system of the Ukrainian armed forces in the war against Russia. It has also become a window on the world for many people living in dictatorships and for people living in remote areas.
'Definitely Not Kids'
On the other hand, Musk has become a personality which divides and arouses passions. This aspect is visible since he acquired Twitter, a platform considered the Town Square of our time. He made it a bastion of conservatives. He regularly attacks the progressives and their values. The expression he uses in this culture war is the “woke mind virus.” Despite the criticism, the tycoon forges ahead.
He has thus just taken a stand on one of the most sensitive subjects of our time: euthanasia and in particular the euthanasia of children. For Musk, the assisted suicide of sick children without hope of healing should never be legalized as the Netherlands has just done. He maintains that children are not old enough to give their consent and their parents’ decision cannot replace it. It all started with a thread on Twitter. A user reported on the new legislation of assisted suicide in the Netherlands.
"The Netherlands legalizes parents euthanizing their sick children at any age," the user posted on Twitter.
"I agree with assisted suicide if someone is a mature adult," the billionaire commented. "But definitely not kids. There is a reason we have an age of consent."
Unsurprisingly, most of the comments shared Musk's view, with some even seeing assisted suicide of sick children as an extension of abortion.
"Life is precious," said one Twitter user.
"No. This extends abortion to 225 months," another user agreed.
A Complex Issue
On the opposite side, users presenting themselves as coming from the Netherlands denounced a misinterpretation of the law by American conservatives, including Musk.
"Leave it to American conservative media to misrepresent our assisted dying laws in the Netherlands," one Twitter user blasted out. "It's a popular recurring genre!"
The user continued: "Usually ignores key elements, like the fact that the humans in question suffer unbearably from a certain condition with no hope of improvement. Or the wide network of people needed to come to a conclusion like this."
The Dutch government announced on April 14 that euthanasia for children under the age of 12 "suffering from an illness or disorder so serious that death is inevitable and […] expected in the foreseeable future” will now be possible.
It must also be "the only reasonable alternative for a doctor to put an end to the desperate and unbearable suffering of the child", said Ernst Kuipers, minister of health in the Netherlands.
According to the local government, a "small group” of "five to ten children” per year would be impacted.
Euthanasia is already legal for minors over the age of twelve "who can give their consent" as well as for infants under the age of one, "with the consent of the parents".
The Dutch government indicated that a re-evaluation of the new regulation will take place a few years from now.
