Mark Cuban on helping essential workers on front lines of COVID-19 fight, efforts to reopen US economy
'Shark Tank' star and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joins Shannon Bream on 'Fox News @ Night.'
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Dallas Mavericks Owner and billionaire investor Mark Cuban pushed back Wednesday on Tesla CEO Elon Musk for reportedly calling states' coronavirus shelter-in-place orders “fascist.”
“Anything that negatively impacts Tesla, Elon hates, period, end of story,” Cuban said on “Fox News @ Night” on Wednesday. “I don’t think he has other people’s interests at heart. I mean, I don’t really know him at all, but that’s just my take.”
During an earnings call on Wednesday, The Verge reported that Musk said, “The expansion of shelter-in-place, or as we call it, forcibly imprisoning people in their homes, against all their constitutional rights, is, in my opinion, breaking people’s freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong, and not why people came to America and built this country.”
He added, “If somebody wants to stay in the house that’s great. They should be allowed to stay in the house and they should not be compelled to leave. But to say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do... this is fascist.”
“This is not democratic. This is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom,” Musk reportedly went on to say.
On Wednesday, San Francisco’s stay-at-home order was officially extended in coordination with six other Bay Area jurisdictions, however construction, and the operation of some outdoor businesses and the use of outdoor recreation facilities like golf courses are allowed to resume, The San Francisco Examiner reported.
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Tesla has a factory in Fremont, Calif., which is in the southeast section of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wednesday’s rant began after Musk indicated that the company is “a bit worried about not being able to resume production in the Bay Area,” which he said “should be identified as a serious risk,” according to The Verge.
Cuban, who is part of President Trump's advisory group on reopening economy, said he disagreed with Musk’s stance.
“My attitude is you’ve got to be smart,” The “Shark Tank” star said. “We don’t have to rush back into things”
Cuban also reacted on Wednesday to a grim forecast by Goldman Sachs that the U.S. economy will likely contract at an annualized rate of 34 percent in the second quarter as the unemployment rate soars to 15 percent due to the COVID-19 outbreak that forced non-essential businesses across the country to temporarily close their doors.
On Wednesday, the Commerce Department revealed gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, fell at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.8 percent in the first quarter, surpassing expectations. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv had expected the first estimate of GDP to show a 4 percent decline.
Goldman Sachs’ forecast did take into account, however, that the fiscal and monetary policy that has been implemented, will “add to growth down the road.”
When asked what his economic outlook is, Cuban said that long-term he is “absolutely bullish.”
“I’m a huge believer in American exceptionalism so I know we will get through this, I know we will get past the virus,” he continued, adding that he was not sure about the timing of the economic recovery.
“What I am really excited about is the Shark Tank side of things, talking to young entrepreneurs who just have great ideas,” he said. “I started to invest in some healthcare companies, some AI (artificial intelligence) companies, just really some unique ideas that are coming along.”
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“I have no doubt in my mind, that this country is so amazing, so full of entrepreneurs that 10 years from now we’ll look back and there will be 5,10, 20, 25 amazing companies that just changed the game,” Cuban noted.
Fox Business’ Jonathan Garber and Megan Henney contributed to this report.
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