Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

[ZenMode]

BTW, the prohibitions on "terrorism" under the federal law apply to:

1. Murder related to terrorism activities
2. Destruction of property IF the conduct transcends national boundaries (i.e. the World Trade Center bombing)
3. Radiological devices, weapons of mass destruction, anti-aircraft missiles.
4. "a explosive or other lethal device into, or against a place of public use, a state or government facility, a public transportation system, or an infrastructure facility-"

Firebombing Tesla dealerships doesn't come close to meeting any of these types of conduct, in addition to not fitting the definition in 2331.

Here's the FBI's definition:

Domestic Terrorism for the FBI’s purposes is referenced in U.S. Code at 18 U.S.C. 2331(5),
and is defined as activities:
• Involving acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United
States or of any State;

• Appearing to be intended to:
o Intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
o Influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; or
o Affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping; and

• Occurring primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

This is a definitional statute, not a charging statute. We talk about the threat these actors pose as
Domestic Terrorism threats, but each of the FBI's threat categories, described in further detail below,
uses the words “violent extremism” because the underlying ideology itself and the advocacy of such
beliefs is not prohibited by US law.

Domestic Terrorism: Definitions, Terminology, and Methodology | Federal Bureau of Investigation

As required by the National Defense Authorization Act, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, have developed standard definitions of terminology related to domestic terrorism and uniform methodologies for tracking domestic...

www.fbi.gov

 

[Healing]

 

[superrific]

Here's the FBI's definition:

Domestic Terrorism for the FBI’s purposes is referenced in U.S. Code at 18 U.S.C. 2331(5),
and is defined as activities:
• Involving acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United
States or of any State;

• Appearing to be intended to:
o Intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
o Influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; or
o Affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping; and

• Occurring primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

This is a definitional statute, not a charging statute. We talk about the threat these actors pose as
Domestic Terrorism threats, but each of the FBI's threat categories, described in further detail below,
uses the words “violent extremism” because the underlying ideology itself and the advocacy of such
beliefs is not prohibited by US law.

Domestic Terrorism: Definitions, Terminology, and Methodology | Federal Bureau of Investigation

As required by the National Defense Authorization Act, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, have developed standard definitions of terminology related to domestic terrorism and uniform methodologies for tracking domestic...

www.fbi.gov

So that's a long way of saying, "not terrorism."

 

[ZenMode]

So that's a long way of saying, "not terrorism."

Appearing to be intended to:
o Intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
o Influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; or

You don't think the vandalism and destruction is meant to intimidate or Elon and those around him?

 

[superrific]

Appearing to be intended to:
o Intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
o Influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; or

You don't think the vandalism and destruction is meant to intimidate or Elon and those around him?

1. No, it is not meant to intimidate Elon and if feels intimidated, then he is even more of a thin-skinned idiot than I thought. But anyway, objective standard so it doesn't matter what Elon thinks. It also doesn't matter because:

2. The word civilian population does not mean a person. If it meant to apply to a person or a small set of persons, that language would be used. Civilian population is a term of art that refers to a collectivity of people. Like the civilian population of Gaza, or Germany, or Tokyo. Or the civilian population of a US state. You could probably talk about the civilian population of sports fans if someone is bombing baseball stadiums.

The other aspect of population that doesn't fit is that a "civilian population" is non-specific. The person who tried to kill Trump was not aiming at the "civilian population" of MAGA. He was aiming at a person. So what he tried to do was assassination, which is a form of homicide, but it's not terrorism.

3. Bombings at Tesla stations are not attempts to influence the policy of government. The way you know this is that there have been no demands associated with them. If the bombers left manifestos saying, "Free Mohamed Khalil," that might plausibly fall within the statute's scope, but in practice courts would apply the ejusdem generis canon to require a higher bar than a single flier. Weatherman perpetrated a series of bombings with the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam. They were accompanied by communiques.

This just isn't terrorism. I've said everything I'm going to say on this topic now. I've quoted statutes; I've explained the terminology. I'm not going to engage further, because a discussion presumes both sides being able to respond in an educated, informed and reasonable way. Obviously you can't, not on this issue, as you have zero training or experience with law and don't understand how it works. This is a lecture class. You can learn something, or you can choose not to.

 

[ZenMode]

1. No, it is not meant to intimidate Elon and if feels intimidated, then he is even more of a thin-skinned idiot than I thought. But anyway, objective standard so it doesn't matter what Elon thinks. It also doesn't matter because:

2. The word civilian population does not mean a person. If it meant to apply to a person or a small set of persons, that language would be used. Civilian population is a term of art that refers to a collectivity of people. Like the civilian population of Gaza, or Germany, or Tokyo. Or the civilian population of a US state. You could probably talk about the civilian population of sports fans if someone is bombing baseball stadiums.

The other aspect of population that doesn't fit is that a "civilian population" is non-specific. The person who tried to kill Trump was not aiming at the "civilian population" of MAGA. He was aiming at a person. So what he tried to do was assassination, which is a form of homicide, but it's not terrorism.

3. Bombings at Tesla stations are not attempts to influence the policy of government. The way you know this is that there have been no demands associated with them. If the bombers left manifestos saying, "Free Mohamed Khalil," that might plausibly fall within the statute's scope, but in practice courts would apply the ejusdem generis canon to require a higher bar than a single flier. Weatherman perpetrated a series of bombings with the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam. They were accompanied by communiques.

This just isn't terrorism. I've said everything I'm going to say on this topic now. I've quoted statutes; I've explained the terminology. I'm not going to engage further, because a discussion presumes both sides being able to respond in an educated, informed and reasonable way. Obviously you can't, not on this issue, as you have zero training or experience with law and don't understand how it works. This is a lecture class. You can learn something, or you can choose not to.

I honestly don't know how you can say it's not meant to intimidate Elon. This has nothing to do with Tesla as cars and everything to do with going after something that is clearly important to Elon. If the goal is not to get him to stop what he's doing at the federal government level, then what is the purpose?

 

[superrific]

Intimidation is bringing a gallows to a crowd and holding up signs like "Hang Mike Pence." It's not randomly setting fire to a car nowhere in the vicinity of the person you think is being targeted (and of course in court you need evidence, not just random inferences).

 

[sringwal]

How we define the crime is irrelevant.

Trump is now threatening to send natural born citizens to prisons in El Salvador for committing a crime against an inanimate object.

Just stop with the bullshit and ponder on that.

We are at the trying to “disappear” citizens for political protest phase.

 

[wmheel1287]

I honestly don't know how you can say it's not meant to intimidate Elon. This has nothing to do with Tesla as cars and everything to do with going after something that is clearly important to Elon. If the goal is not to get him to stop what he's doing at the federal government level, then what is the purpose?

To voice displeasure with the broadly illegal and unconstitutional power with which he has been invested would be my guess. Do you actually believe that anyone thinks Elon Musk can be intimidated or scared by anything that happens at a Tesla dealership?

 

[dcphx]

Can one commit violence against a car?

How about a couch?

 

[ZenMode]

To voice displeasure with the broadly illegal and unconstitutional power with which he has been invested would be my guess. Do you actually believe that anyone thinks Elon Musk can be intimidated or scared by anything that happens at a Tesla dealership?

Illegal and unconstitutional is up for debate.

The intent of the actions doesn't change based on how successful they are.

 

[wmheel1287]

Illegal and unconstitutional is up for debate.

The intent of the actions doesn't change based on how successful they are.

I never said that intent and success are directly related. I asked if you believed that people THINK Musk can be intimidated by such actions. I do not. Therefore I don't believe at all the intent is to intimidate or coerce.

And no, illegal and unconstitutional really isn't up for debate. Musk's power grab has clearly violated the plain text of the constitution in several ways.

 

[farce©]

I can’t for the life of me figure out what ZenMode’s point might be. But he has to post nonsense nonetheless. He’s all caught up in bullshit he can’t quite verbalize because words aren’t his friend.

 

[roostra]

I can’t for the life of me figure out what ZenMode’s point might be. But he has to post nonsense nonetheless. He’s all caught up in bullshit he can’t quite verbalize because words aren’t his friend.

I will just say it so Zen can move on: It was a bad thing that people set cars on fire at Tesla dealerships and they are bad people. They broke the law and committed crimes and should be prosecuted in the criminal justice system. And I hope that the next President does not pardon them. I speak on behalf of all Democrats.

 

[JCTarheel82]

Trump is now threatening to send natural born citizens to prisons in El Salvador for committing a crime against an inanimate object.

Watch your back, JD Vance.

 

[dcphx]

I will just say it so Zen can move on: It was a bad thing that people set cars on fire at Tesla dealerships and they are bad people. They broke the law and committed crimes and should be prosecuted in the criminal justice system. And I hope that the next President does not pardon them. I speak on behalf of all Democrats.

and they should be punished in accordance with how these crimes are usually punished, not shipped off to a foreign prison outside of US court jurisdiction and away from their constitutionally prescribed rights.

 

[altmin]

Tesla confirms it can't sell the Cybertruck even with tax credit and discounts

Tesla has revealed Cybertruck deliveries in the US, confirming that it can’t sell the electric truck even with federal tax...

electrek.co

With Tesla’s announcement today that it recalled all Cybertrucks produced up until last month, the company confirmed that it made and delivered 46,000 Cybertrucks in the US since launching production in late 2023.

By comparing them to previous numbers, it means that Tesla is only going to deliver between 7,000 and 8,000 Cybertrucks in Q1 2025.

That would be significantly down from the last two quarters when Tesla is estimated to have delivered between 10,000 and 12,000 Cybertruck.

It is a bad look considering the Cybertruck gained access to the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles this quarter, and Tesla started to discount the truck with free Supercharger and subsidized financing rates.

The lower financing rate is equivalent to slashing thousands of dollars off of the Cybertruck.

Tesla also launched its Cybertruck lease program last month and offered free wraps on Foundations Series.

If deliveries are dropping even with those new incentives, it’s a clear sign that the Cybertruck program is in distress.

At this point, Tesla’s only hope is the upcoming cheaper Cybertruck RWD expected to start at $61,000 later this year.

 

[altmin]

Elon tells Tesla employees not to sell TSLA stock as board and execs are dumping

At an all-hands meeting last night, Elon Musk stood before Tesla employees and told them to “hang on to their...

electrek.co

At an all-hands meeting last night, Elon Musk stood before Tesla employees and told them to “hang on to their TSLA stocks” as Tesla board members and top executive are dumping their shares amid a 40% crash.


Tesla has frequently held “all-hands” meetings for employees over the years, but last night, it was the first time that they were streamed publicly.

CEO Elon Musk didn’t announce anything new during the meeting. He mostly recapped Tesla’s latest milestones over the last year, thanked employees for their work, and reinstated several of his overly optimistic predictions about Tesla’s future regarding self-driving cars, robots, and stock valuation.

The CEO again claimed that he believed that Tesla would become the world’s most valuable company by a wide margin.

Musk went as far as asking employees, and indirectly the public as this was publicly live-streamed, to “hang on to their stocks.”

 

[BillOfRights]

Yes he does. He discusses it on his podcast series related to the concept of a pardon.

You listen to ben Shapiro podcasts?

 

[sringwal]

and they should be punished in accordance with how these crimes are usually punished, not shipped off to a foreign prison outside of US court jurisdiction and away from their constitutionally prescribed rights.

Right. Literally no one is excusing the act of the protesters, or doubting that they should be punished.