As a regular guest on the BBC’s Business Matters, I’m often asked to predict the future. I often feel ill-equipped to do so. But this week, freshly returned from London, and experiencing the British Summer of Discontent for myself, I had a strong feeling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s days were numbered. So I shared my prediction live on the BBC on Tuesday evening. Today, less than 48 hours later, I woke to the news that Boris Johnson has announced his resignation.
“I think it’ll be a matter of hours or days before Boris Johnson is pushed out.” Business Matters July 5th, 2022.
Here’s a transcript of the segment, edited for length and clarity.
BBC host, Sam Fenwick: Two of the UK government’s most senior ministers have resigned from Boris Johnson’s cabinet, plunging the government into a major crisis… There has been no reaction in the stock market to the developments in UK politics. Alison, what about in the States? Perhaps better news, bigger news there?
Alison van Diggelen: It’s not headline news here. One of the stories in the New York Times was: Who is Rishi Sunak? He’s not a household name here yet. But it’s clear the tide has turned. Boris Johnson has lost the trust of many of his influential colleagues and I expect Sunak might replace him when he is forced out.
And of course, this comes in the larger context of this climate of unrest and the term The Summer of Discontent applies to parliament, as well as the union action that’s sparking right across the country.
Sam Fenwick: Boris Johnson’s integrity is in question. Is it possible for a leader to come back from something like that when their honesty is being questioned?
Alison van Diggelen: The good parallel with the United States is Donald Trump. He, like Boris Johnson, seems to have a teflon outer coating: nothing seems to stick to him, to date! But with Boris Johnson, it seems the tide has turned and his propensity for obfuscating and lying means he’s going to get his comeuppance in the next few days. He failed to show any humility or change in strategy in the wake of the vote of no confidence will come back to bite him.
…I think the integrity of politicians around the world is in question and I think it’ll be a matter of hours or days before Boris Johnson is pushed out.
More Green Dialogues
I always try to focus on good news from the world of green tech when I’m on the BBC, so you might also be interested in hearing about our discussion of the new ballot measure to promote Electric Vehicles and boost forest management and fire prevention in California.
What makes Madonna the ultimate female bad-ass role model? On the eve of Madonna’s 60th birthday, I was invited to join the BBC’s Roger Hearing in London and Bloomberg’s Enda Curran in Hong Kong to discuss the queen of pop’s controversial life and legacy. How has she redefined what it means to be a woman in her 60’s?
“In the realms of entertainment, whether you’re an actor or a musician, as a woman you’re supposed to fade away in a dignified manner when menopause kicks in. Madonna hasn’t done that and I think that’s a great, great thing. Why should women have to make this dignified exit because no one is asking men to do that?” Fiona Sturges, Culture critic at the Guardian, Financial Times.
Here is some of our conversation: Roger Hearing: Now Alison, you’re a fan, aren’t you?
Alison van Diggelen: I am a fan. How I’d describe Madonna is: She’s the ultimate bad-ass female role model. She’s fearless, creative, unpredictable and that makes her super compelling. I also have to praise her for her Billboard Music Awards speech in 2016. This was before #MeToo and she talked out misogyny, the double standards for men and woman. She appealed to women to reach out to other strong women, to learn, to collaborate and to be inspired. That’s a message that we cannot get tired of hearing.
Roger Hearing: But what makes her a role model?She’s been pretty controversial in lots of ways that many people thought was not appropriate, and wasn’t a good role model for anyone…
Alison van Diggelen: She’s a pioneer. She doesn’t accept the norms and conventions and I think that what she’s doing as a 60 year-old is: she’s going to reinvent what we think of a 60 year-old woman. I say: good on her! She makes some crazy choices in what she wears and what she does, but she’s always pushing the envelope, making us question what is “OK”? I think that qualifies her as a role model, even if you don’t like 100% of her choices.
Amal Clooney, Emma Gonzales, Rick Steves. These are just a few of the influential people who’re standing up to gun violence since the Florida high school massacre on February 14th. Amal Clooney addressed an audience of 6500 women at the Watermark Conference for Women in Silicon Valley just a few days after the mass shooting. Here’s what she said about outspoken high school students, like Emma Gonzalez:
“I’m just blown away by these students. They’re doing an amazing job at turning a tragedy into advocacy. I’m in awe of how courageous they are and how effective they are…To stand face to face with the President, a Senator, the NRA and ask tough questions. They are determined for change to come and they are our best hope. I’ve heard theories about violence in films, mental health issues…but these exist in other countries and this is the only country where this kind of problem exists. The difference is guns!”
This week’s Fresh Dialogues podcast brings together my recent interviews on this topic from the BBC, the Commonwealth Club and the Watermark Conference for Women. It seeks to answer the following questions:
Who is Emma Gonzalez and why could she represent a turning point in gun control?
Why does Amal Clooney care about gun violence and what’s she doing?
What can you do? Travel guru and businessman Rick Steves has one powerful idea.
Listen to the Fresh Dialogues podcast here or play it below:
.
1. Who is Emma Gonzalez and why could she represent a turning point in gun control?
Emma Gonzales was one of the dozens of students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida who survived the massacre of 17 of their friends on February 14th. While most of us would have been terrorized and cowed by the horrific gun violence, just three days later, Emma Gonzales took to the podium at a Florida rally, where she directed her anger at President Trump and other politicians for accepting donations from the National Rifle Association. If you haven’t yet watched her passionate and articulate speech, I recommend you watch right now. She’s got over 1 million followers on Twitter and is using that as a platform to share information about the upcoming March for Our Lives on March 24th.
Emma Gonzalez: “Every single person up here today, all these people should be home grieving. But instead we are up here standing together because if all our government and President can do is send thoughts and prayers, then it’s time for victims to be the change that we need to see…They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS!”
2. Why does Amal Clooney care about gun violence and what’s she doing?
AmalClooney was a keynote speaker at the Watermark Conference for Women on February 23rd. She was interviewed onstage by NPR’s Kelly McEvers, who asked her why she and George Clooney just committed $500,000 to the #NeverAgain movement to end gun violence. Here’s what she said:
Amal Clooney: “I’m just blown away by these students. They’re doing an amazing job at turning a tragedy into advocacy. I’m in awe of how courageous they are and how effective they are…at 16 years old… To stand face to face with the President, a Senator, the NRA and ask tough questions. They are determined for change to come and they are our best hope. As someone who didn’t grow up in the US, I’ve always thought of it as this great country providing an example to others. The idea that children are scared to go to school, that bullet proof backpacks are sold out, and they have to go through live shooter drills and the solution now is to start arming teachers!”
“I’ve heard theories about violence in films, mental health issues…but these exist in other countries and this is the only country where this kind of problem exists. The difference is guns!” (applause)
She added that her children are very likely to go to school here in the United States and so that’s why this is very personal for her. One day the wee Clooneys’ lives may depend on real change happening and a reduction in the proliferation of guns in this country.
I asked Kelly McEvers – from her front row perspective as NPR host – why these Florida teens are making such a big impact. Here’s what she said:
Kelly McEvers: “This time something has snapped…Instagram is the difference (and Twitter). They’re trolling the trolls as no one has ever done…We in the mainstream media are listening, because these kids, they get a survivor’s pass – they sheltered in a cupboard for four hours…People are desperate for something to happen. For a long time elected officials have been able to take money from people…No one’s tried to call them on it. And now they are. So, are businesses going to rethink who they do business with? Are politicians going to rethink who they take money from? That’s the bigger thing that could come out of this. Not just policy.”
Kelly hosts an NPR podcast called Embedded and says she’d like to be embedded with the young students like Emma Gonzalez to watch this new movement taking root.
3. What can you do? Travel guru and businessman Rick Steves has one powerful idea
On February 17th, a few hours after Gonzales addressed the nation, I interviewed America’s beloved travel guru and PBS personality, Rick Steves at the Commonwealth Club of California. He leads a multi-million dollar travel business and yet he was willing to risk alienating some of his fans (and impacting his business) by speaking freely and forcefully against the NRA. Here’s a link to the full interview podcast. Listen @58:42 when I ask him about Europe’s sensible gun laws and Emma Gonzales’s speech.
Rick Steves: “I would like us to have Europe’s standards when it comes to guns…The American people need to step up and vote….We need to do more than thoughts and prayers…we’ve got to un-elect people who get money from the NRA and elect people who proudly don’t.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods was one of the first companies to take a stand against the NRA. The CEO comments echo what Rick Steves told me:
“We need to do more than thoughts and prayers…we’ve got to un-elect people who get money from the NRA.”
I discussed all this live on the BBC World Service on Monday. The BBC’s Fergus Nicoll asked me to share highlights of my Rick Steves interview in the context of America’s upcoming midterm elections. You can listen to the full discussion at the BBC World Service, starting at 12:58 in the podcast.
Elon Musk continues to make ambitious plans for Tesla Motors, some even call them “ludicrous.” Not content to make a niche product for electric vehicle enthusiasts, he now wants to conquerthe mass market, competing in the major leagues against GM, BMW, Ford et al. Musk is promising an annual production of 1 million cars by 2020, a staggering increase from last year’s paltry: 76,000. Is he insane?
On a conference call with Musk and media colleagues this week, Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogueslearned that Musk is still calm and laser-focused on executing his “Tesla Master plan.” This year is crunch time for Tesla. The future of the company rests on the timely and efficient production of the Model 3, Tesla’s smaller, mass market car. Will demand stay strong, despite intense competition and reservation holders threatening to cancel due to his position on Trump’s economic advisory team? Musk seemed to flounder a bit on this question and refused to disclose the latest reservation numbers, for fear of analysts “reading too much into them.”
During the discussion of Tesla’s 2016 financial results, some anomalies arose. Despite continuing to make massive losses (due to capital investment in the Tesla Factory and the Gigafactories), its share price is still in the stratosphere. Tesla might produce a small fraction of GM and Ford’s output, but the company is valued on par with them. What gives?
“The recent run-up in Tesla stock has less to do, in our view, with anything around the near-term financials, and more to do with the nearly superhero status of Elon Musk,”Barclays analyst, Brian Johnson.
Superhero status? More ludicrousness…The superheroes Tesla is focused on are the mighty robots on the factory floor. Musk has named them after X-men superheroes, like Cyclops and Thunderbird (see photo above); and they’re the ones that’ll have to earn their superhero status as manufacturing goes into top gear in the next few month.
“Tesla is going to be hell-bent on becoming the best manufacturer on earth.” Elon Musk
The BBC’s Fergus Nicoll invited me on Business Matters to help explain more.
Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity):
BBC Host, Fergus Nicoll: Tesla stock has hit record highs, soaring 50% since December. With investor confidence growing that Tesla will deliver its Model 3 on time. Let’s explore this with Alison in Silicon Valley. Before we get into the nitty gritty of Model 3, and the other numbers, I know you watched Elon Musk do the webcast that go with the Q4 figures. What kind of presentation did he come up with?
Alison van Diggelen: I listened to the (live conference call) podcast. Elon Musk was on the podcast with his (retiring) CFO, answering questions from the media. They were generally upbeat. Elon Musk always over-promises how soon his vehicles will be delivered, but he is confident that they’re going to start deliveries of their Model 3 in July of this year, for employees first…beta testing for employees. He’s hoping for the mass rollout starting in September of this year. They’re pretty bullish about that.
Fergus Nicoll: Here’s the thing: Tesla has a valuation pretty close to Ford. But compared to Ford it makes about five cars! So what are we seeing? A massive future priced into that?
Alison van Diggelen: That’s right. Last year, Tesla delivered 76,000 vehicles (compared to Ford’s 2.5 million), but Elon Musk is very bullish. He’s aiming for the factory to produce 500,000 cars by the end of 2018, and one million a year by 2020. He’s ludicrously ambitious. Brian Johnson, who’s an analyst with Barclays, called this run up in the Tesla stock more “Elon Musk superhero status” than short term financials. What Elon Musk says, he often delivers….eventually.
Tesla merged with SolarCity, the rooftop solar provider, so that is also giving an upside. They’ll be able to cut costs: Tesla showrooms will also become showrooms for the SolarCity solar panels. They’re also doing the other side of the equation: energy storage….
Fergus Nicoll: The household and business batteries.
Alison van Diggelen: Exactly.
Fergus Nicoll: The thing is, Americans drive insane distances. Electric cars have to go a long way….the infrastructure has to catch up with the company?
Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk joined the Trump business advisory team in December he’s been under intense pressure to step down. That pressure intensified this month after Donald Trump signed an executive order banning immigrants from seven countries with Muslim majorities. On February 2nd, Musk’s colleague, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick pulled out of the Trump team after a widespread #DeleteUber campaign went viral and his employees urged him to withdraw.
“Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that,” wrote Kalanick to his staff.
Musk faced a barrage of similar criticism, with some saying he’s a crony capitalist and others claiming to have cancelled their orders for Tesla Model 3.
Last week, I joined the BBC’s Fergus Nicholl on the BBC World Service program, Business Matters. We discussed Silicon Valley tech’s furious reaction to the Trump travel ban and Elon Musk’s high pressure predicament.
Listen to the podcast excerpt below (it includes commentary from the always provocative Lucy Kellaway):
Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for length and clarity):
Fergus Nicoll: Elon Musk has run into Twitter trouble…when he spoke to Mr. Trump in person and when he was seen having a drink with Steve Bannon in the White House, a lot of people said: “What on earth are you thinking?” And he came up with a fairly strong defense…
Alison van Diggelen: His key message is: “Activists should be pushing for more moderates like him, to advise the president not fewer.” And he asks, “How could having only extremists advise him possibly be good?”
.
Alison van Diggelen: He’s faced a lot of criticism, people even saying they’re cancelling their orders for the next generation of cars, the Tesla Model 3. He is under this pressure, but he is a powerful influencer, a poster child for Donald Trump’s manufacturing jobs being in the U.S. Musk is an idealist, he wants to save the planet. He’s bringing his message of climate change and green jobs, almost as a Trojan horse, into Trump’s meeting rooms. I think a lot of people who think about this deeply deeply, are not having this knee jerk reaction and saying don’t associate with Trump. Instead they’re saying this might be a good conduit for Trump hearing this green point of view.
Here is some of the pushback Elon Musk received on Twitter and his responses:
