Every big company lobbies politically, usually on both sides of the aisle. And their employees often make their own campaign bribes too. And to some extent they will all do some virtue signaling (supporting their choice of LGB/trans/law enforcement/women/2nd amendment/minorities/whatever). Most of that is just whatever... people shop at Amazon, Home Depot, Meta, Google, Chick-filet, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, whatever, and they all have their values...
But... very very few of those companies are led by an outspoken unfiltered CEO with their own social media. Even Zucky doesn't go way out of his way to broadcast his political agenda on his social media platforms. Musk is unique in that way. And Musk has also flip-flopped somewhat, from being somewhat liberal (though barely) in the past to being burned by California politics and then shifting ultra-right these days. So people who bought their Tesla thinking he was a liberal or at least neutral, well, they're stuck with their cars even after Musk changed his tune.
Computers are just a tool, relatively inexpensive and replaceable. Consumer motor vehicles are largely a lifestyle product - very few people can afford to buy a new one whenever they want and they are not very necessary in most urban areas, so which one is bought is much more significant. This is only intensified by recent political conflicts over ICE bans and electric vehicle mandates.
Would you kindly inform people from faraway cultures and different information sources why would "Macs" be «seen as political», as to some of us this is very "new".
The last relevant characterization some of us have seen is "Oh, must be an architect". Probably pretty dated.
I mean, Tim Cook doesn't spend all his time on Twitter (or whatever the Apple equivalent of Twitter is, perhaps Ping) ranting and raving, so there's that.
Also, like, Cook isn't notably left-wing. If he was a loud Marxist (which would be weird for the CEO of a large company, but whatever), you might find that attitudes would be a little different.
Maybe it has something to do with Elon Musk donating more than $100 million to the Trump campaign and openly attacking liberals on X day in and day out.
It's much easier to support Trump allies when they refuse to disclose their donations and arrange their meetings behind closed doors where nobody can know what they're discussing. If only Musk was more like Tim Cook, then he'd have the rapt respect of every moneyed American liberal.
When Elon complains about European antitrust intervention, he's hilariously out-of-touch and embarrassing himself. When Tim Cook complains about European antitrust intervention, he's making a serious and informed plea to lawmakers and citizens that must be respected because he knows best. Two flavors, same conservative medicine.
I have a good many neighbors with Teslas and while the media loves to spin a tale about Teslas and Liberals being a thing, my first hand observations don't support that narrative.
Tim Cook is a friend to conservative lawmakers, conservatives feel fine paying Apple because it financially supports the values they respect. Money spent buying an iPhone or Mac is the ultimate expression of respect for concentrated wealth.
Both purchases are still a political statement, but their constitutent markets are oftentimes too dumb to even understand what statement they're making with it. Liberals get sucked into counterproductive marketing schemes when they see silhouettes dancing to Mariah Carey - conservatives whip out their wallets when you use social media to espouse centuries-old disproven rhetoric as gospel. Both of these consumer bases are so profoundly stupid that their own insecurity is a direct byproduct of not using common sense when spending money.
If they weren't vulnerable to simple marketing, Americans might actually think about what they buy. Thankfully for the marketers, original thought in America has been getting phased out since the 1960s.
That was the suggestion - it's wrong, though. Apple invests in liberal marketing but not liberal reform. Liberals think that Apple likes them, because they support their banal social movements on the surface. Underneath that surface, Apple's business strategy entirely relies on borderline fascist levels of control over supply chains, logistics and human labor. Their gleeful business relationship with China is exactly the same as the smile Musk puts on his face when he has to tow the party line for access to cheap labor. They do it for the same reason Musk does - liberal society is incompatible with the cheap labor he wants and the suppression of revolt he relies on. iPhones made in a truly free country would not be cost competitive.
But don't just stop there. Look at all the other times Apple refused liberal reform, with the DMA, DSA, DOJ suit, Corellium's suit, Apple v. Epic, the union-busting action, sensitive content moderation, tax-dodging in Ireland and client-side-scanning... Apple cannot guarantee you anything as an institution because they fundamentally value nothing higher than profits.
> Note that Apple being a political lightning rod is news to me though.
They've been that way since Foxconn put up complimentary suicide nets for the workers on the Apple line. People turn the other cheek because, again, Apple invests heavily in a rosy marketing attitude that belies the mistreatment of their employees and developers.
But... very very few of those companies are led by an outspoken unfiltered CEO with their own social media. Even Zucky doesn't go way out of his way to broadcast his political agenda on his social media platforms. Musk is unique in that way. And Musk has also flip-flopped somewhat, from being somewhat liberal (though barely) in the past to being burned by California politics and then shifting ultra-right these days. So people who bought their Tesla thinking he was a liberal or at least neutral, well, they're stuck with their cars even after Musk changed his tune.
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