It's absolutely infuriating.

Cyber Roundup

Tesla's annual shareholder meeting, regrettably called the "Cyber Roundup," took place last night at the company's Texas Gigafactory — and it turned out to be a real dumpster fire.

In light of wide-ranging reports of ethical issues and allegations — including reports of systemic racism and sexual misconduct, as well as concerns over child labor, COVID mishandling, and more — several activist shareholders took to the stage last night to offer a number of ethically-minded proposals that, if passed, could potentially change the company for the better.

Infuriatingly, concerned shareholders were consistently jeered offstage by other attendees — and Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself failed to directly acknowledge the proposals either, as Techcrunch reports.

It's a troubling sign that many of Tesla's shareholders simply have absolutely no interest in holding the company accountable in any meaningful way.

Booed Off Stage

Several different activists were the targets of derision and ridicule from the crowd, including a representative from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, who was literally laughed off the stage when she called for Tesla to disclose more information about political lobbying efforts.

Another group proposed that Tesla submit a yearly report on its efforts to address organizational racial discrimination and sexual harassment, a proposal that, as TechCrunch reports, was outright rejected.

And then there were the nuns. Sister Dorothy of Sisters of the Good Shepherd was ruthlessly heckled when she asked Tesla to be more transparent about the child labor in cobalt mining, and applause broke out when her time was up.

Musk Indifference

According to The New York Times, only one new proposal, which stipulates that investors can nominate board members, was approved.

As for Tesla's CEO, TechCrunch reports that the billionaire founder welcomed the audience's cheers and derision, even referring to them as "the best crowd" — and again, abstained from directly addressing any of the ethical concerns.

While it's at least somewhat hopeful to see some shareholder activism, it's disheartening to see those who simply want to make the organization better be treated so callously by other attendees.

But given the fact that Musk is welcoming this kind of behavior — not to mention the fact that he's the source of much of these controversies — it's not exactly surprising, either.

READ MORE: The 5 Biggest Takeaways from Tesla's Cyber Roundup [TechCrunch]

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