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Is Elon Musk the Harbinger of a New Era of Hostile Corporate Takeovers?

Is Elon Musk the Harbinger of a New Era of Hostile Corporate Takeovers?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the official opening of the new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant on March 22, 2022 near Gruenheide, Germany. Christian Marquardt - Pool/Getty Images
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Commentary

“Get woke, go broke” refers to a company that engages in woke politics and, thereby, alienates a large share of its customers. The canonical example is Gillette. A major seller of men’s shaving products, it ran a 2019 Super Bowl ad attacking men as inherently toxic. The result was customer alienation and an $8 billion writeoff due to a loss of market share. This story has been repeated over and over, with examples ranging across myriad sectors of the economy.

Michael Ryall
Michael Ryall
Author
Michael Ryall is professor of strategic management and director of the Executive Virtue Development Lab at the University of Toronto.
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