Elon Musk says he wants to help.
On Saturday, the famous entrepreneur tweeted a mild rebuke of a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump that temporarily blocked immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries before part of the order itself was blocked by a federal judge. On Sunday, Musk tweeted an offer to bring specific complaints about the order to the president.
SEE ALSO:Elon Musk just endorsed Trump’s secretary of state pick, and it makes no senseMusk, a new business advisor to Trump, does have that kind of access.
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But some of the most lauded responses to Musk's offer voiced speculation about the idea and anger over Musk's willingness to acquiesce to any of the demands made in the order, which threw into doubt the legal status of immigrants from Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Somalia.
@elonmusk You really expect people to offer up specific amendments... over Twitter?
— Alternative Dave (@redletterdave) January 29, 2017
@elonmusk @danmoran3 @redletterdave The second you start making concessions on something this morally wrong, you legitimize the policy.
— Hutch (@z0mgItsHutch) January 29, 2017
@elonmusk You don't amend yourself out of a situation like this. It is not a fundamentally good idea with a few minor problems.
— Tom Coates (@tomcoates) January 29, 2017
Musk has recently taken to attempting compromise with the administration, even when a recent compromise seems to grate against some of his deepest beliefs. He recently endorsed Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who until recently was the CEO of ExxonMobil, a massive oil and gas company. Historically, Musk has been a clean energy crusader, and in October 2016, he said, "We need to do everything we possibly can to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy."
Such is the awkwardness made public by trying to walk a tightrope between diametrically opposed ideas.
And Musk is hardly the only CEO struggling to pull off a balancing act. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick spent his Sunday trying to douse a public relations inferno after Saturday gave rise to a roaring backlash against his ride-sharing company that stemmed from a "strike-breaking" accusation. Uber continued to service New York City's John F. Kennedy airport on Saturday during an hour-long strike called by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance as a form of protest against Trump's immigration ban. A social campaign around #DeleteUber popped up and took off.
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Uber's ride-sharing rival, Lyft, also kept up service during the taxi strike, but #DeleteUber gained traction after Uber tweeted about removing surge pricing around JFK International Airport, letting its followers know they were operating at the strike location. Lyft saw an opening and quickly pledged $1 million to the ACLU over the next four years. The ACLU successfully argued for a block on the Trump administration's immigration ban on Saturday night, which was awarded by a federal judge in New York City (though reports suggest not all customs officials are complying with the judge's order).
Kalanick has since tried to ease the outrage of customers. In a statement issued on Saturday, he said the company was working to identify drivers from the seven countries mentioned in the order, and provide them with compensation for the duration of the 90-day ban. Then, in a statement posted to Facebook on Sunday, Kalanick shared what he said was an email he had sent to Uber drivers.
Here’s what Uber will do:- Provide 24/7 legal support for drivers who are trying to get back into the country. Our lawyers and immigration experts will be on call 24/7 to help.- Compensate drivers for their lost earnings. This will help them support their families and put food on the table while they are banned from the US;- Urge the government to reinstate the right of U.S. residents to travel - whatever their country of origin - immediately;- Create a $3 million legal defense fund to help drivers with immigration and translation services.
Kalanick, who is an economic advisor to the president, also said he would urge Trump to reconsider the order in a meeting on Feb. 3.
3/ I'm going to use my position on Pres economic council to stand up for what's right - https://t.co/L6U9LOv3IX
— travis kalanick (@travisk) January 29, 2017
Much like the reaction to Musk's olive branch, most of the retweeted responses to Kalanick's tweet were those expressing skepticism.
@travisk The most impactful way to stand against this racist, sexist, megalomaniac would be to sever ties with him. Stand with the people.
— ΛJ (@alanajoy) January 29, 2017
.@travisk Resign from anything to do with Trump, Travis. Stop being complicit in working with a fascist regime or keep losing customers.
— EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) January 29, 2017
@travisk at this point if sit in a room with Donald Trump you're enabling fascism. #StopPresidentBannon pic.twitter.com/Xd1I8GquoO
— MazelTovCocktail🇺🇸 (@benfightsback) January 29, 2017
We'll see what happens this coming Friday.
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