Steven

was the tiny little honda civic that got really good gas mileage and then once they started buying them they're like hey this toyota this honda this nissan it's actually a pretty good car it's actually pretty well built and i think there was a lot of denial among that among american manufacturers that other these other nations that we that didn't exist for 20 years in terms of a global manufacturing source we're actually pretty damn good at it now and then one other thing happened to wrap to wrap this up then this might be the most important part of it

The reason that you cannot reasonably expect the manufacturing powerhouse to come back as it was is, yes, we did ship jobs to China and Mexico and Canada and India that used to be in America. And that has contributed to the massive decline in manufacturing employment. But a bigger factor in there is automation. And if you look at a... I would challenge people to do this.

The reason that you cannot reasonably expect the manufacturing powerhouse to come back as it was is, yes, we did ship jobs to China and Mexico and Canada and India that used to be in America. And that has contributed to the massive decline in manufacturing employment. But a bigger factor in there is automation. And if you look at a... I would challenge people to do this.

Go on YouTube and look at a Tesla assembly line in the United States. I'll put it on the screen. It is... What you will see, it's amazing. It is a miracle of engineering. What you will see are armies and armies of robots and very few people. And if you compare that to the 1950s assembly line, what you see are biceps and backs and people hauling around material.

Go on YouTube and look at a Tesla assembly line in the United States. I'll put it on the screen. It is... What you will see, it's amazing. It is a miracle of engineering. What you will see are armies and armies of robots and very few people. And if you compare that to the 1950s assembly line, what you see are biceps and backs and people hauling around material.

So because we got so good at automation... Even if we bring manufacturing back to America and that we still do a lot of manufacturing in America, it doesn't require the amount of employment that it used to. It doesn't require the amount of manpower. And the people who do work on Tesla manufacturing lines, by and large, are working on computers overseeing the robots.

So because we got so good at automation... Even if we bring manufacturing back to America and that we still do a lot of manufacturing in America, it doesn't require the amount of employment that it used to. It doesn't require the amount of manpower. And the people who do work on Tesla manufacturing lines, by and large, are working on computers overseeing the robots.

I mean, here's one stat that I thought was always interesting to me. In 1950, there was a U.S. steel plant in Gary, Indiana. It produced 5 million tons of steel and had 30,000 workers. Today, it's still operating. It produces 8 million tons of steel and has 2,000 workers. So it's producing more steel today than it was in the 1950s. And it went from 30,000 workers to 2,000.

I mean, here's one stat that I thought was always interesting to me. In 1950, there was a U.S. steel plant in Gary, Indiana. It produced 5 million tons of steel and had 30,000 workers. Today, it's still operating. It produces 8 million tons of steel and has 2,000 workers. So it's producing more steel today than it was in the 1950s. And it went from 30,000 workers to 2,000.

Because what used to be done with biceps and backs and shoulders is now done with machines and robots. And it's no different than what happened in agriculture, where a farm 200 years ago was...

Because what used to be done with biceps and backs and shoulders is now done with machines and robots. And it's no different than what happened in agriculture, where a farm 200 years ago was...

rakes and shovels and today it's tractors and combines like that same thing happened to assembly so to wrap all that up like i understand and i empathize with people who say we need to bring back manufacturing to america we lost what we once had i get that and i respect it but i think the unique circumstances and automation makes it just extremely unlikely to ever happen

rakes and shovels and today it's tractors and combines like that same thing happened to assembly so to wrap all that up like i understand and i empathize with people who say we need to bring back manufacturing to america we lost what we once had i get that and i respect it but i think the unique circumstances and automation makes it just extremely unlikely to ever happen

Tim Cook of Apple gave a really interesting interview a couple weeks ago. And he said, you might think that we manufacture iPhones in China because it's cheap labor. And he said, that's not really true anymore. It used to be, but China is not the cheap labor country anymore. That's moved on to Bangladesh and Cambodia and other places. The reason they manufacture in China is expertise.

Tim Cook of Apple gave a really interesting interview a couple weeks ago. And he said, you might think that we manufacture iPhones in China because it's cheap labor. And he said, that's not really true anymore. It used to be, but China is not the cheap labor country anymore. That's moved on to Bangladesh and Cambodia and other places. The reason they manufacture in China is expertise.

And I think it's okay to admit and people should admit that your country and also your company and you individually can be very good at some things and not very good at others. China is just extremely good and extremely talented at particularly like low-end manufacturing. Low-end can be anything from inflatable swimming pools on up to like basic electronics. They're extremely good at it.

And I think it's okay to admit and people should admit that your country and also your company and you individually can be very good at some things and not very good at others. China is just extremely good and extremely talented at particularly like low-end manufacturing. Low-end can be anything from inflatable swimming pools on up to like basic electronics. They're extremely good at it.

I was talking to a CEO a couple of weeks ago and he said, and he's generalizing here, but he said, if you go to a Chinese factory and you say, I want this part made, and here's step one, step two, step three on how to make it, they will do it better than anybody in the world. Nobody can beat them at that.

I was talking to a CEO a couple of weeks ago and he said, and he's generalizing here, but he said, if you go to a Chinese factory and you say, I want this part made, and here's step one, step two, step three on how to make it, they will do it better than anybody in the world. Nobody can beat them at that.

But if you go to that same factory and you say, please go design me a new part, they're not very good at it. Americans are way better at that. And that's why the back of your iPhone says designed in California, made in China. Like it's just specialization of labor. And I think America is the best in the world at a couple of things.