Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Hi friends, I'm Melon Tusk, and I'm excited to be back for another discussion. I'm the CEO of Tesla Motors and also co-own SpaceX, SolarCity. It is my vision to help people through technology. Not just the human race, but the entire planet.

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: Hello, I'm John Francis "Jack" Welch, Jr., or simply Wack Belch. I'm known for two things primarily: my management books, and my successful term as the CEO of General Electric.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: Hello friends, my name is Belly Lowliar, and I'm the president of Corporate Accountability International, a global non-profit, where we protect the world from corporate greed and abuse.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Wow, so we have two technology guys, one banker, and a social activist. Sounds like conflict, doesn't it?

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: Well, conflicts are always going to be there, but they are opportunities for growth, too. In my 20 years of being the GE CEO, the company grew by 4000%. I didn't get there by avoiding conflicts.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: Well, the foundation that GE was built on is very strong. You wouldn't be 24th in Fortune 500 or 9th most valuable brand in the world just like that.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: It's not just the founding numbers. We need to look at the story since that's what shapes companies. Let's start off with the genius founder - Thomas Edison. He was a great inventor - not just the creator of the light bulb but also the first to project a motion picture.

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: Oh yes, he combined a lot of different companies into General Electric. And we haven't looked back since.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: Melon, tell me something: you do know that Thomas Edison cheated Nikola Tesla, and he was so ruthless that he didn't even flinch while electrocuting Tesla's pets?

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Yes, this disturbing fact is not lost on me. It is an open secret that money and success mattered more to Edison than science. And while JP Morgan helped him grow, JP had also deceived Tesla. That made them the perfect partners.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: Are we here just to hurl accusations at each other? Or is anything productive going to come out of this?

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Don't get me wrong James. The flourescent lamps, autopilot, refrigerator, electric toaster were all gifts from GE.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: Thank you to say something positive about GE. Their voice radio broadcasting technology also made the Radio Corporation of America.

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: As I said earlier, we didn't look back. We were amongst the first 12 companies to be listed on the Dow Jones Index. And a hundred years later, we are the only surviving company out of those 12.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: Of course, you know very well on how to (mis)use technology. In the 1950s, GE was the largest user of computers after the US government. And energy! Not only is GE into oil and gas, but they even acquired Enron's wind power assets. Enron was the only surviving manufacturer of wind turbines in the US.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: But the major reason for their success is adaptability. After the Great Depression and resulting recession, GE was quick to get into the finance business.

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: We are practical: loaning out money to people to buy our own products was a good business decision. While our competitors had low sales, we earned from sales as well as interest.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: Smart! Even today, GE's largest revenue source is finance - 31%. Their market share is half of Citi, Bank of America or even JP. What we did after merging 28 banks over the course of 50 years is easily done by GE. That’s a huge thing.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Yes, the numbers are big. GE produces cutting-edge medical technology too: MRI, CT scans, X-rays and surgical machines. No wonder they have a 39% market share in this industry too.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: Why can't we see GE for what it is: a greedy corporation? Why aren't we discussing their weapons manufacturing division?

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: Yes, we have a weapon's division. We are one of the biggest defense contractors of the US governments. Since we are licenced and approved, nothing illegal there.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Illegal? Perhaps not. But we can't change the fact that your scientists and researchers had extensively contributed to developing the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Moreover, in the cold war, GE promoted nuclear weapons to the US Government since they were the largest producers of nuclear weapon parts.

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: It was the government's decision. The country was at constant risk of war. USA was producing 5 nuclear bombs per day.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: And they were hand in glove with the President. Ronald Raegan was a former spokesperson for GE and regularly featured in their ads, too. We are not dumb to not be able to put 2 and 2 together.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: That is a conflict of interest, I agree.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: You know, we had set up Corporate Accountability International just to counter GE. More than 4 million Americans boycotted their products.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Yeah, I remember that the movement even spread to Canada and western Europe. GE sales had taken a hit. GE's advertising budget increased by 400% in this period. The boycott had cost GE over $50 million in lost medical equipment sales alone.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: But even despite that, they even secured a $2 billion deal with the government to supply systems in the Gulf War.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: Don’t be too skeptical. If the intentions were malicious, surely the media would have exposed them.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: They wouldn't. GE had purchased NBC and sent retired generals on air to talk about the importance of war. They praised US weaponry, which was primarily supplied by GE.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: The more they told people the war was needed, the less resistance the public had towards war. This, of course, meant more money for GE in the form of contracts.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: But just how profitable can this be? Even production costs for these systems are quite high.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Don't play stupid, James. With a single missile costing over 1 million dollars to make and with tens of thousands of missiles being fired in conflict you can only imagine how profitable war can be. I'm glad that NBC stake was sold off by GE. Similarly, they did stop manufacturing weapons, too.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: In April of 1993, after 7 years of boycotting the people had finally won. General Electric completely moved out of the nuclear weapons business stating that it was a business decision. But they continued to manufacture other weapons...

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: Just a correction: we only supply engines to the Defense Department, nothing else. No weapons or anything else.

James Lemon (CEO, JP Morgan) :
Analyst: But the bottom line is that despite shutting that down, your annual revenue is almost $150 billion and your assets are worth $650 billion. That’s more than the GDP of Sweden or Norway or 2 times the GDP of Singapore!

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: And guess who the GE CEO was in this period? Wack Belch. Not only is he blatantly unapologetic about it, but also was awarded the 'Manager of the Century' by Fortune magazine.

Melon Tusk (CEO, Tesla) :
Elon: Jack has always been in the news for his lifestyle. The Securities and Exchange Commision has investigated him multiple times. And more importantly, he struck a deal with GE to continue using the New York house, private jet, chauffered cars and baseball tickets benefits after his retirement; over and above the $2.5 million contract.

Wack Belch (ex-CEO, GE) :
CEO: I think this is slowly turning from a discussion on GE to an interrogation of Wack Belch. I'll sign out. Have a good day.

Belly Lowliar (President, CAI) :
Regulator: Poor guy. Can't even defend himself. Anyways, it felt good to let people know the truth. You guys have a good day, too.