Good morning.
The UAW seems to have forgotten that it played a major role in almost destroying the American auto industry in the 1960s and ‘70s. Now it may be doing the same again. But history rhymes, it doesn’t repeat. This time, the real threat is not Japan, or even cheap labor in China, but a devilishly complex transition to electric vehicles. And despite recent profits, the Big Three’s ability to successfully make that transition remains far from assured. An overpriced labor contract will only add to the difficulty. The Wall Street Journal produced the must-read story of the weekend, with the headline: “Whatever the UAW Strike Outcome, Elon Musk Has Already Won.” It shows how UAW demands would give Musk a massive cost advantage.
Which of course puts Musk right where he always wants to be—at the center of attention. I spent the weekend reading Walter Isaacson’s new book on the enigmatic mogul and thoroughly enjoyed it. There’s not much of the story that’s new, and what is new has already been ladled out in multiple pre-publication "exclusives." But Isaacson had unparalleled access to Musk, his family, and his closest associates. He tells the story in spare and muscular prose—free of polemics. Some critics have chided him for not taking sides and declaring Musk either hero or villain. Isaacson concludes he is both. The book has no final summation, but the last chapter includes this paragraph:
