Premium: Exclusive – Elon Musk on the record, from Twitter and Space to future of cars

Partnering the world's major business media brands has its upside..Yesterday, our partner the Financial Times of London scored a journalistic scoop by holding the first interview with SA-born Elon Musk since his headline-making $44bn acquisition of Twitter..He was the surprise star attraction at the newspaper's Future of the Car Summit, spending almost an hour and a half in conversation with Peter Campbell, the FT's global motor industry correspondent. It was a wide ranging, fascinating discussion worthy of its "exclusive" tag..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Musk has strong views on numerous subjects, including free speech and sustainable energy. You can watch the full interview by clicking here or on the image below. The executive summary is republished below..More for you to read today:.The banality of 'White Privilege' discourse. Michael Cardo writes on Elon Musk, Harry Oppenheimer and the New York Times.Untrained Passenger Lands Airplane. In his Best of the Web column, WSJ's James Freeman shares details of a remarkable story.US Stocks Reverse Course, Finish Lower on Inflation Data. Figures show first inflation deceleration since August.Confessions of Your Company's Chief Happiness Officer. Keeping workers satisfied is tough these days, so some companies are putting executives in charge of employees' happiness..Elon Musk plays down fears Twitter deal will jeopardise Tesla focus.From geopolitics to corporate risk-taking, billionaire acknowledges challenges facing his growing empire .By Richard Waters in San Francisco for The Financial Times .Could buying Twitter be an act of hubris that jeopardises Elon Musk's start-up empire?.In the two weeks since the social media company's board accepted his $44bn offer, there are concerns that the world's richest man is biting off more than he can chew. They have ranged from whether he will be stretched too thin in taking on another company to risks from mortgaging or selling some of his large personal Tesla stake and worries about a political backlash over the "free speech" absolutism he has promised at Twitter..In a wide-ranging interview at the FT's Future of the Car Summit on Tuesday, Musk swatted away questions about whether Twitter will weigh on his wider business interests while he grapples with huge issues confronting electric carmaker Tesla..These included the stresses that have come from managing what he described as the fastest-growing manufacturing company in history amid the severe global supply chain crisis and straddling the widening geopolitical gulf between the US and China..Musk pointed to habits already designed to handle brief and intense bursts of work, as his restless focus shifts between his companies' most pressing problems. He said that two nights before appearing at the FT event to give his first interview since reaching the deal to buy Twitter, he had worked through the night and the next day dealing with one such problem..He rejected the suggestion that owning Twitter would add to the risks at his current businesses. Asked if his controversial plans for the network might rebound somehow on Tesla, his response was: "I am confident we will be able to sell all the cars we can make.".The Tesla boss has talked at length this year about dealing with a situation in which "demand is exceeding production to a ridiculous degree". On Tuesday, he hinted at a new idea: temporarily cutting off new orders. "We're actually probably going to limit that — just stop taking orders for anything beyond a certain period of time," he said..Then there are the complicated political calculations that might come from owning Twitter. Rival tech billionaire Jeff Bezos is among those raising the possibility that Musk's dependence on manufacturing in Shanghai might leave him exposed to pressure from China to censor Twitter. The often irascible chief executive barely blinked as he brushed off the suggestion: "I've seen no indication to that effect.".Musk has been quite happy to step over political faultlines that other business leaders have avoided. The Tesla boss singled out the current Shanghai Covid-19 lockdowns as an immediate risk to Tesla's fortunes. Illustrating his close relationship with the Chinese government, Musk said he had discussions that eased his concerns.."I've had some conversations with the Chinese government in recent days, and it's clear that the lockdowns are being lifted rapidly," he said, taking a more moderate tone than he used when challenging a previous plant closure order in California. "So I would not expect this to be a significant issue in the coming weeks.".On the fractured political climate in the US, he pulled no punches in attacking what he claimed was leftwing bias at Twitter and arguing for the reversal of Donald Trump's permanent ban from the network. His goal, he claimed, was to make enemies at both extremes of the political spectrum..For critics on the left who suspect him of personal pro-Trump bias, Musk had a different message. Shutting the ex-president out did not silence his "voice" but instead served to "amplify it on the right", he said — making it essential to bring Trump back to a broader social media platform..While outspoken in his attack on Twitter's over-reach, Musk on Tuesday projected a far more measured tone than in some recent appearances as he acknowledged the challenges of managing Tesla's growth. In contrast to previous over-optimistic production forecasts, he tempered expectations, referring to Tesla's recently stated goal of producing 20mn cars a year by 2030 as an "aspiration" rather than a hard target..He also singled out availability of raw materials for its batteries as one of the biggest obstacles to Tesla's long-term goal. Asked if Tesla might even buy a mining company to guarantee supplies, he made it clear that all options were on the table: "It's not that we wish to buy mining companies, but if that's the only way to accelerate the transition [to sustainable energy], then we will.".Musk did not shy away from backing decisions that could entail big financial risks for Tesla, including going ahead with a limited form of self-driving technology if he thought it would save many lives. "We're just going to take the heat," he said. "If we believe that the probability of injury is reduced . . . but we also know that we're going to be sued despite doing the right thing, we will do the right thing and get sued.".A more measured tone crept in as he discussed free speech on Twitter. Musk's insistence until now that he would allow any speech on Twitter as long as it was legal has brought a storm of complaints. On Tuesday, he said Twitter should limit the spread of statements that are "destructive to the world" — a loose term that left room for plenty of subjectivity in Twitter's future moderation policy..While rejecting permanent bans like the one on Trump, he suggested for the first time that Twitter should have other ways to limit the spread of damaging information — including "a timeout, a temporary suspension, or that particular tweet should be made invisible or have very limited traction"..Those weapons already exist in Twitter's content moderation arsenal, implying that the gulf over how to defend free speech online may not be as wide as he has previously painted it..NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – support@biznews.com..If you'd like to help sustain our independent voice, why not share the love by making a gift that keeps giving? Click here to access the BizNews Premium subscription signup form, and be sure tick the relevant box. At R100 a month and inclusive of full membership of The Wall Street Journal, it's a mind-expanding gift at an incredibly modest price.

Premium: Exclusive – Elon Musk on the record, from Twitter and Space to future of cars

Related Stories

Meet Tshepo Mahloele – Big Capitec shareholder, ABSIP’s “CEO of the Decade” now accused by Holomisa as kingpin of corrupt network

PREMIUM: Making of a great editor – the George Palmer playbook

Premium – BizNews global portfolio: ASML joins – so does Adobe as Bull takes hold again

Alec Hogg: Helen Zille predicts SA choice will be DA or EFF