Elon Musk doesn’t want to make electric scooters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.Larry Busacca/Getty Images for The New York Times

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with Recode published on Friday that some Tesla employees wanted the automaker to make an electric scooter, but he denied their request.
• “There was some people in the studio who wanted to make a scooter, but I was like, ‘Uh, no,'” Musk said.
• “It lacks dignity,” he added.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an interview with Recode published on Friday that some Tesla employees wanted the automaker to make an electric scooter, but he denied their request.

“There was some people in the studio who wanted to make a scooter, but I was like, ‘Uh, no,'” Musk said. 

“It lacks dignity,” he added.

Musk then suggested that electric scooters make the rider look bad during the following exchange with Recode executive editor Kara Swisher:

Swisher: No, it doesn’t lack dignity.

Musk: Yes they do.

Swisher: They don’t lack dignity, what are you talking about?

Musk: Have you tried driving one of those things? They —

Swisher: Yes, I do it all the time, I look fantastic.

Musk: They do not, you are laboring under an illusion.

Swisher: I truly do. Well, I think I look good, and therefore —

Musk: This is an illusion.

Electric scooters have experienced both a surge in popularity and significant backlash in the past year. Scooter companies like Bird and Lime have quickly earned valuations of over a billion dollars, but the scooters themselves have attracted criticism for cluttering sidewalks in cities where they’re permitted.

Read Recode’s full interview here.

More from Elon Musk’s Recode appearance:

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