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A Growing Diplomatic Spat, China Places A Second Canadian Under Investigation; Brexit Lifeline, Theresa May Heads Back To Brussels After Surviving A Confidence Vote At Home; Inside Tesla's Production Hell, A New Report Sheds Light On What Some Call The Mad Genius Of Elon Musk. Aired: 8-9a ET

Aired December 13, 2018 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST, NEWS STREAM: I am Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream". A growing diplomatic spat, China places a

second Canadian under investigation. Brexit lifeline, Theresa May heads back to Brussels after surviving a confidence vote at home. And inside

Tesla's production hell, a new report sheds light on what some call the mad genius of Elon Musk.

The diplomatic dispute between the U.S., Canada and China appears to be escalating. China's Foreign Ministry now confirms that two Canadians are

being detained for engaging in activities that endanger China's national security. Businessman Michael Spavor is the second Canadian citizen to be

held since Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the CFO or the Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei. Beijing says former Canadian diplomat

Michael Kovrig is also being investigated.

And joining us now is CNN's Will Ripley, and Will, we have reports of a second Canadian detained in China. What more have you learned about him?

WILL RIPLEY, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: His name is Michael Spavor. He lives on the border with North Korea, Dandong. And he runs what's called the Paektu

Cultural Exchange. It is an organization that basically brings people into North Korea, business groups, tour groups and that sort of thing.

He actually is most famous for arranging Dennis Rodman's 2013 trip to North Korea where they met with Kim Jong-un. I've been in North Korea at the

same time as Michael Spavor. He is well known to people who travel in and out of the country, but he was actually on his way to Seoul. He never

arrived on Monday. He called the Canadian consulate saying he thought something might be wrong that he was in his trip, he was approached by

Chinese officials and then he vanished. And now we're learning that he's facing a charge activities that endanger the national securities of China,

potentially very serious charges.

LU STOUT: We have had so many fast moving developments involving detentions, disappearances in China. How did we get here?

RIPLEY: Well, if you look at the timeline, you think back to December 1st, when things looked so promsing. President Xi Jinping and President Trump

sitting across the table in Argentina, hammering out that trade truce, a two and a half-hour working dinner that ended with applause, but then just

a few days later, a major setback in the form of actually a tech company in Britain.

Britain's BT Group said that it would end the use of Huawei's equipment. Huawei is a huge manufacturer of components that a lot of tech companies

around the world rely on, but China has accused the U.S. of pressuring companies like BT to stop using Huawei to switch to American made parts,

and so you had that and then just one day later, to add fuel to the fire, Canada confirms the arrest of Huawei's CFO, Meng Wanzhou, a titan of the

Chinese tech industry. In China, she is a name like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg -- infuriating the Chines government and quickly raising

suspicions given the timing of all this.

LU STOUT: Meng's arrest was announced on December 6th, but she was actually arrested on December 1st, that key day, because that was when see

Xi Jinping, Donald Trump met at the G-20 and announced that trade truce.

RIPLEY: Exactly and Chinese state media has really jumped on that, but you know, they wonder, could President Trump who have been sitting across the

table from Xi and really not know that a major tech figure is about to be arrested or actually may have already been arrested by the time they sat

down to that dinner, even though John Bolton was sitting at the table, President Trump's National Security adviser, he says he knew.

So you have now accusations in China that Meng Wanzhou is being used as a political pawn by the United States and of course, when President Trump

came out and said that he might intervene in the case if we can help resolve the trade war, well, that has only further added to those

suspicions in China.

And then you look at December 10th, now we have these two Canadian citizens, and you wonder is it retaliation that Michael Kovrig was

arrested, accused of undermining the state and then Michael Spavor, also under investigation for similar charges. It could totally be a coincidence

or it could be China fulfilling its promise telling Canada that there would be grave consequences and a heavy price if they do not release Meng

Wanzhou.

Now, she's out on about $7.5 million bond, but she is still in custody. She could still be extradited to the U.S. where she could face up to 30

years in prison and you have to bet American tech firms operating in China like Apple, like Qualcomm, they have to at least be looking very closely at

their own executives movements and trying to make sure that there isn't some sort of retaliation towards the United States at some point.

LU STOUT: So much at stake and what a timeline, this has happened in the last two weeks. Will Ripley, thank you.

Is it coincidence, is it retaliation? For more on all this, let's bring in CNN global affairs analyst, Max Boot. Max, thank you for joining us. We

have two Canadians now detained in China. Does the timing make it pretty clear that this was a political decision?

MAX BOOT, GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, CNN: Of course. I mean, China is playing this high stakes geopolitical game. They're very upset at Canada

...

[08:05:09]

BOOT: ... at U.S. request. The arrest of the CFO or China's largest telecom company and they're retaliating. They basically want pawns for an

exchange I would think by grabbing these Canadian citizens and trying to prevent Canada from extraditing the CFO to the United States.

LU STOUT: Did the U.S. and Canada make it political in the first place, by arresting the Huawei CFO?

BOOT: It certainly looks like it. I mean, it's not clear that the Trump administration really knows what they are doing there. It is not clear

that there was the kind of high level vetting and coordination and Donald Trump is certainly giving the sense that this is not simply a legal issue,

this is not a question of the rule of law, but he himself is sounding as if she is a political pawn between the United States and China because he said

that she could be released if he so desired and presumably as part of a deal with China.

And so this is a bedrock of the American legal system is that we don't arrest people for political purposes. We arrest them when they violate the

law and he has certainly, Donald Trump is conveying the impression that we're arresting somebody for political purposes as part of this

geopolitical dispute with China and you can see why China is then retaliating in kind, which is not to in any way justify what they've done

which is outrageous because these Canadian citizens have done nothing wrong. They're just caught up in this global dispute.

LU STOUT: You know, and in the background to all this, trade talks are apparently still under way between the U.S. and China. We know that the

tariffs have really hurt China, it's been damaging its economy. Do you think China will be forced at one point to gloss over the Huawei incident

to ultimately end the trade war?

BOOT: Well, I think there's a sense that both sides have a desire to have some kind of face saving agreement because it's not just China which is

being hurt by these tariffs, so is the United States. I mean, talk to farmers who have lost 90% or more of their soybean market for example, and

now have to be bailed out by the Federal government to tune on the $10 billion or $12 billion and this is spooking the stock market as well in the

United States.

So this is a very high stakes undertaking that Donald Trump has launched with huge risks because of the massive economic relationship between the

U.S. and China that he is now placing into doubt. And it's, you know, obviously there are talks under way and China is talking about rolling back

their tariffs on American automobiles. They're talking about modifying their Made in China 2025 plan for global technology dominance.

But a lot of the stuff just seems very cosmetic. It's not really clear China is actually going to make any major concessions that would hurt their

economic competitiveness.

LU STOUT: As you said, both the U.S. and China want a face saving agreement. Could that be the reason why? Now, back to the news of the

day, the reason why China is going after Canadian citizens and not Americans?

BOOT: I think that's part of it, I don't think they want to mess up the budding deal or potential deal with the United States, but it's also the

fact that this woman is in the custody of Canada right now and they really want to prevent her extradition to the United States, and there's a

precedent for this in 2014 when Canada, at U.S. request, arrested a Chinese citizen who was suspected of stealing technology.

China grabbed a couple of Canadian Christian aid workers in China, arrested them to try to prevent this person's extradition and when he then dropped

his bid to prevent extradition to the United States, China went ahead and released the two Canadians that they had arrested. So I would guess

something like that will happen here, but I am very concerned about the fate of these two Canadians because, you know, being in Chinese custody,

that is no joke.

They can be held in solitary confinement. They can be subjected to torture. There is no rule of law. So the fate that they're undergoing

right now is something that is -- should be of grave concern for anybody who cares about human rights.

LU STOUT: Absolutely. The fate of these two Canadian men, very, very much a point of concern right now. Max Boot, thank you so much for joining us

here in the program.

BOOT: Thank you.

LU STOUT: We'll talk again soon. Now, the British Prime Minister keeps her job for now, but none of the problems holding up the Brexit process had

been resolved. Theresa May is in back in Brussels today trying to break the Brexit deadlock after she survived that confidence vote in her

leadership of the Conservative Party, but that came at a price.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What I'm clear about is the next general elections is in 2022 and I think it's right that another party

leader takes us into that general election. My focus now is on ensuring that I can get those assurances that we need to get this deal over the line

because I genuinely believe it's in the best interests of both sides, the U.K. and the E.U.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:10:10]

LU STOUT: Let's get the latest now from Europe. CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in Brussels, but first, let's go to Nic Robertson outside of Parliament,

and Nic, less than 24 how far hours after surviving that vote, Theresa May is in Brussels. Can she secure what she wants? These key assurances and

pledges from E.U. leaders?

NIC ROBERTSON, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, CNN: No, she can't, in a word. Look, the reality was coming out of that vote yesterday was a very

clear showing not just for her, not just for her party, not just for the opposition here, but for the E.U. leaders and heads of government in those

E.U. countries.

Theresa May is in a very difficult position. One-third of her own MPs stand against her. What she wants and what she needs to get from the Union

right now, which is some significant concessions on the backstop agreement, she has talked about trying to get legal and political reassurances, that's

really not where the E.U. is at right now. They're saying they're not going to open up that whole Brexit deal. So let's assume that they hold

her word and give her a few words, when she brings that back here to try and get that Brexit deal through the Parliament here with a meaningful

vote, she's not going to have the support to do it.

So the clock ticks on that deadline to leave the European Union on the 29th of March and the longer that goes on, recognizing that she's not going to

win that vote as things stand right now when she comes back here, what does that mean? That means the possibility of leaving the E.U. without a deal,

with all the economic consequences for Britain, for Europe and partners around the world. That becomes very real.

So unfortunately at the moment, the answer yes, even though everyone in Europe now recognizes the difficult nature of her plight, the answer at the

moment is no, she can't get what she needs in Europe.

LU STOUT: Yes, the clock is ticking. The hurdles are mounting. Let's go the Erin McLaughlin in Brussels, and Erin, the European Union has said it

will not renegotiate the deal. So what are E.U. leaders willing to give to Theresa May today?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Kristie, I think that very much depends on what Theresa May has to say at a working dinner later this

evening. Essentially, I was talking to one E.U. diplomat who is saying they need to be convinced of two things. First, the legal and political

assurances that she says she needs with respect to that Northern Ireland backstop. They want to know that that will not compromise this 585-page

legally binding withdrawal treaty that they've already ratified and they also need to know -- they also are looking for her to convince them that

whatever they agree on, however form they help or what she's asking will actually be effective there in Parliament.

Because as Nic pointed out, they definitely have taken note that a third of her own MPs turned on her last night. So they're going to be looking for

her to convince them that whatever they do will, in effect, move the needle there in Westminster, get this deal through. So she's going to have a

tough time convincing them of those two points here in Brussels tonight.

LU STOUT: Yes, Theresa May remains in office, but the Brexit chaos and confusion is far from over. Erin McLaughlin reporting for us live from

Brussels. Nic Robertson reporting live from London. A big thank you to you both.

Now, U.S. President Donald Trump, his former long-time attorney and so- called fixer will begin a three-year prison sentence in March. Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to nine criminal counts on Wednesday, including

violating Federal campaign finance laws. Cohen told the court he felt it was his duty to cover up the President's, quote, "dirty deeds." Athena

Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ATHENA JONES, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Three years -- that's how long President Trump's former personal attorney and long-time fixer Michael

Cohen will have to spend in prison after pleading guilty in August to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations, and just last month,

to lying to Congress.

It's the first time a member of Trump's inner circle has received significant prison time in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's

Russia probe. It was a day of reckoning for Cohen joined at the Federal courthouse by his family and it brought more bad headlines for Trump.

After detailing a pattern of deception by Cohen, Federal prosecutors asked for a substantial prison sentence. U.S. district judge William Pauley

agreed, saying Cohen thrived on his access to wealthy and powerful people and he became one himself.

[08:15:00]

JONES: In brief remarks in court, Cohen, who once prided himself on being Trump's lawyer and even said he would take a bullet for the President

painted himself as a victim, saying about Trump, "Time and time again, I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds." Cohen adding, "I have

been living in a personal and mental incarceration ever since the day that I accepted the offer to work for a real estate mogul whose business acumen

that I deeply admired."

Cohen has pledged to continue to cooperate with Mueller's investigation into possible collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. Speaking

of the President, he said, he has committed to "ensuring that history will not remember be as the villain of his story."

In admitting to illegally orchestrating hush payments to former "Playboy" model Karen McDougall and adult film start Stormy Daniels to keep them

quiet about alleged affairs with Trump before the 2016 election, Cohen implicated the President, saying Trump directed him to make the payments,

something Federal prosecutors noted in court papers.

Trump has denied the affairs and any knowledge of the payments, despite being recorded discussing the McDougall payment with Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: When it comes time for the financing which will be --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Listen, we'll have to pay this all --

COHEN: No, no, no. I've got it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Cohen also admitted to lying to Congress and to Special Counsel investigators about talks to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Negotiations

with Russians lasted until June 2016 even after Trump had become the presumptive Republican nominee. Despite Cohen originally telling

investigators talks ended in January. And Cohen admitted he discussed the project with then candidate Trump.

Throughout the campaign, Trump frequently proclaimed he had no ties and no business in Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have nothing to do with Russia, folks, okay. I'll give you a written statement, nothing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Prosecutors view Cohen's lies about Russia contacts as part of an effort to alter the investigation into Russian election meddling, an

ongoing probe that threatens more political and legal peril for the President. Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, just hours after Cohen's sentencing, Federal prosecutors struck a non-prosecution deal with AMI, the parent company of the "National

Enquirer" tabloid. Now, it's chairman is Donald Trump's long-time friend, David Pecker. AMI will not be charged for its role in securing hush money

from Michael Cohen, and as part of the deal, the company admits to making the payment in cooperation with the Trump campaign to prevent a former

"Playboy Playmates" claims of an affair from being made public in 2016.

You're watching "News Stream." Still to come, two people shot dead in the Israeli controlled part of the West Bank. W We're live on the ground there.

Plus, an intense manhunt is under way for the Strasbourg Christmas market killer. New details emerge about the suspect's background.

[08:20:04]

LU STOUT: Welcome back. Now, at least nine people were killed after two trains collided in Turkey. Dozens of others were injured. It happened

just minutes after the train left the station near the capital of Ankara. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says three railway employees

have been detained. A criminal investigation is now under way.

There are new concerns about an upsurge of violence in the Israeli controlled West Bank. Two Israelis were killed and two others wounded

after shooting at a bus stop earlier. The Israeli military say that the gunman stepped out of his car and opened fire on Israeli soldiers and

civilians. The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, did not take responsibility but praised the attack and promised more to come. The

attack took place near a deadly drive by shooting on Sunday.

Let's get to the West Bank now where Oren Lieberman is standing by. Oren, what is the fallout from the shooting and the scope of the manhunt

underway?

OREN LIEBERMAN, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Kristie, this is where the shooting happened just here behind me, the bus stop in front of where I am standing.

The Israeli military says the driver and a gunman came down this street, stopped in front of the bus stop here. The gunman got out, started

shooting and then drove off towards the city of Ramallah which is just a few kilometers up the road here.

It is because of the direction in which the gunman fled from this scene that the Israeli military has blocked the entrance and exits to Ramallah in

the search -- the continued search for the gunman. So that is a major effort right now to block off entrances and exits to the city of Ramallah,

one of the biggest Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

Now, this comes on top of a shooting less than a week ago, just up the main road here from where we're standing near the settlement of Ofra, it is

because of how close these are together that the Israeli military says this may have been a sort of copycat attack or a revenge attack. It was

overnight that the Israeli military carried out a number of raids in the West Bank, one is the city of Ramallah not far from where we're standing;

another near the city of Nablus, those with two arrested suspects in two separate attacks, one that driving attack just up the road from where we're

standing and one, an attack more than two months ago.

So you get a sense there in the tension in the West Bank and the amount of effort the Israeli military has put in to try to catch suspects from

previous attacks, gunmen from previous attacks and to try to thwart any follow on or copycat attacks -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: The suspect is still at large. Tension is high. You mentioned how an IDF spokesperson said this could have been a copycat attack. If

that's the situation, is it very likely that there will be more similar incidents to come?

LIEBERMAN: That certainly remains something the Israeli military is looking out for. If you listen to analysts here, the West Bank has

essentially been simmering. It has not been cool at any point. It has remained tense. It has remained hot. And this, perhaps, an expression of

that, not only the attack that happened where we're standing now, but the one that happened less than a week ago not far from where we're standing,

as well as the attack that happened more than two months ago in the Barkan Industrial Park in which two Israelis were killed.

So there remains that sense of alertness, that sense of worry, as well, that more attacks could carry. The Israeli military says they have added a

number of Infantry units in and around the area, not only as defensive units to prevent more attacks, but also as offensive units as they continue

to search for those who carried out this attack here behind me.

LU STOUT: Oren Lieberman reporting live from the West Bank. Oren, thank you. Now to Europe, and some 700 police and military officers are hunting

for the gunman who opened fire on a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. Tuesday's attack left three people dead and more than a dozen people

wounded. Authorities released this photo of the suspect. They say that he has an extensive history of robbery and acts of violence with convictions

in Germany, Switzerland and France. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Strasbourg, she joins us now. Melissa, the search is still on for the suspect, this

man with an extensive criminal record.

MELISSA BELL, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: A man being looked for, you're quite right. Here in France and just across the border in Germany, authorities

have taken that very unusual step in terror cases of releasing his photograph calling for witnesses for anyone who might have seen him since

he made his way across this bridge, Kristie, and through the Christmas market here in Strasbourg, killing three and wounding so many who remain,

even this morning, in critical continue.

He was also, remember wounded in the fire fight that ensued with authorities as he made his way through this Christmas market, through this

town center, wounded to the arm, he has taken a bullet to the arm, but he is clearly still hiding somewhere. You say 720 policemen and women here in

France, the search continues across the border and the question is whether he had the time to slip across it.

We know that he fled the scene from here in a taxi and spared the life of the taxi driver we're hearing from the French press simply because the man

told him he was a practicing Muslim who respected prayers.

[08:25:05]

BELL: But to him, the suspect apparently said I've killed them in the name of the sons who were killed in Syria. It's really all we have to go on

when it comes to his motivation, what we know of him, as you say, was that he was very well known to authorities here in France, but also across the

border in Germany, mainly though entirely for common law convictions. He had spent time in jail for some of those. What he had not been convicted

for, but was believed to be associated with since he was on the terror watch list here in France was a radicalization that took place while he was

in jail.

Clearly, the manhunt continues. We know that his parents, two of his brothers have been taken in for questioning by authorities trying to get to

the bottom of who he might have known, trying to figure out where he might have got to.

LU STOUT: You know, this radicalized gunman remains at large and this is happening at a politically fraught time there in France. The French

President has been under growing pressure from the yellow vest movement, how well is Macron responding to the shooting?

BELL: Well, as you say, these are incredibly delicate times here in France. And we've heard on the part of the government a call, a plea that

the yellow vests should suspend their protests on account of what's happened here and it's unlikely, Kristie that that will be heeded. You

know that Emmanuel Macron made a number of announcements on Monday in their direction in the hope of a appeasing them, but we gathered from the yellow

vest that that protest will go on, on Saturday. They're planning for a fifth consecutive Saturday of protests with a great deal of anger still

being expressed. The yellow vest saying, "Look, this is simply not enough."

Then there is, as you say, even as this manhunt continues, and we've seen these security checks really tightened around place, not just the Christmas

market here in Strasbourg, but elsewhere. France is now on its highest level of alert which means 1,800 extra military personnel have been

deployed to fortify what was already a substantial operations to try and keep the Christmas markets and sensitive sites in France safe.

But then, add to this the pressure that the French government is under if only economically, Kristie, this is one of those parts of the country, the

Christmas markets here and there tend to make a lot of money at Christmas. We're coming up to that period already from the yellow vest protest, $1

billion worth of retail sales have been lost. That is just one of the indications of how badly damaged the French economy is.

LU STOUT: Melissa Bell reporting live from Strasbourg. Melissa, thank you. Now, up ahead, will the announcement of a ceasefire in one city in

Yemen, will that lead to an end in human suffering? Coming up, we have a rate look inside Yemen's long running nightmare.

[08:30:10]

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines. China's Foreign Ministry says

two Canadians are now being detained for engaging in activities that endanger China's national security. Businessman, Michael Spavor is the

second Canadian citizen to be held since Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei. Two Israeli soldiers were

killed after a shooting at the West Bank earlier today. Two civilians were also wounded during an attack. The Israeli military say the gunman stepped

out of his car before opening fire on Israeli soldiers and civilians who were at a bus stop. Negotiators in Sweden have announced a truce for a

besieged city in Yemen.

The Saudi-backed Yemen government and Iranian supported Houthi rebels have agreed to a ceasefire in Hudaydah. The agreement also includes a prisoner

swap, quarters for humanitarian aid and a framework for future negotiations. Even as the talks get set to wrap up in Sweden, bombs have

been falling on Hudaydah. And CNN has rare footage showing the immediate aftermath of an artillery strike. Nima Elbagir has this report and a

warning, there are graphic images that you will find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: An ambulance reaches out to one of the few remaining hospitals in Hudaydah. What we're

about to show you is incredibly difficult to watch. In the jumble of bodies, a boy in yellow searching for his mother. Little bodies are

carried in draped in blood-soaked cloths. Everywhere is shock and blood and death.

This man is searching for his wife. He finds, instead, the body of had his three-year-old sister. It's too much to take in. My wife, with he asks.

In surgery. The baby is fine. A glimmer of hope, but all too quickly lost. My mother? She's dead. Even as the peace talks continue in Sweden

between Yemen's warring parties, the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthi rebels, so, too, does the violence on the ground.

This footage was sent to CNN by the Houthi rebel-backed, Ansar Allah media. Eyewitnesses tell CNN the members of this family were killed during an

artillery strike under coalition air cover, a charge the coalition denies saying the Houthis continue to target civilians in Hudayday.

This is just a glimpse into what it's like almost every night in this besieged city. In spite of U.S. government promises in October to deliver

a ceasefire within 30 days, that month has long since passed. Much of what was filmed here is so graphic, we're not going to show it in full.

Outside, two of the lifeless bodies side by side waiting for loved ones to claim them. This man lists a litany of loss, his daughter and her son, his

other daughter and her husband. It's too much. Inside, the boy in yellow finally finds his sister as he comforts her, other children are carried

out. There's just no more room at this hospital. Outside, his grandmother begins to wail and he attempts to comfort her. It's all too much.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: This is heartbreaking to witness so much suffering there. Nima Elbagir joins us now from London and Nima, so much bloodshed because of the

war in Yemen there have been these peace talks underway in Stockholm. According to the U.N. chief, they're bearing fruit. There's a ceasefire

that has been agreed upon, a ceasefire for the port city of Hudaydah, but will it hold and will it help end the misery there?

ELBAGIR: That is the key question, and you saw the footage that we broadcast there. This was happening even as the talks were continuing

which speaks to a certain amount of maneuvering and politicking which unfortunately, drains some of the credibility from what has been achieved

today.

However, we should say this is still a huge achievement and it comes because of a huge amount of international pressure. Yesterday, the Senate

voted to take to the debate stage an unprecedented war powers resolution aiming to pull support ...

[08:35:10]

ELBAGIR: ... to pull the U.S. support from the war in Yemen. There is a separate resolution which aims to censure Saudi Arabia for what played out

during the allegations around Jamal Khashoggi's killing as well as the war in Yemen. There is a drum beat, finally, after three years of

international censor and pressure, but without that pressure, we would not seeing what little fruit these talks have brought.

For the people on the ground, though, those we're speaking to, Kristie, they want to wait and see. They have been bombarded and starved and

bruised and battered for three years now. It's understandable that they don't quite trust that that ordeal is over yet.

LU STOUT: Yes, this conflict needs to end. Their suffering must end. Nima Elbagir, reporting live for us. Nima, thank you. If you would like

to help the victims of this ongoing conflict in Yemen, including those suffering from famine, you can check this website out. It's our own

website, cnn.com/impact. You're watching "News Stream" and we'll be right back.

All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now, some call him a mad genius. Others call him a bully. In

recent months, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk's public meltdown has stunned fans and critics alike as "WIRED" magazine points out, it called a man he has never

met a pedophile, berated analysts on earnings calls and at one point, misled the public about the future of his company. That caused Elon Musk

his chairmanship.

Yet, all of these are but a glimpse into what his employees describe as a thrilling and tumultuous workplace. That's why "WIRED" went inside Tesla

to find out what it's like to work alongside Elon Musk.

And Nick Thompson joins us now from New York. Nick, "WIRED" magazine went inside Tesla during what has been a pretty testing time for their model 3

production, also for Elon Musk. What was it like to be inside there, to work there?

NICK THOMPSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF, WIRED: Well, what we did is we sent a reporter, Charles Dohigg and asked him to call every person he possibly

could at Tesla who has worked on the model 3 production over the last year or two, and what he found is they accomplished amazing things. They hit

their targets, but during the time, Elon Musk was melting down, firing people at whim. One of the quotes that stuck out is everybody at the tesla

is in an abusive relationship with Elon.

LU STOUT: That's right. I mean, and it was manifested in things like rage firings and something called the idiot bit. What is that?

THOMPSON; Right, so those are when Elon just gets so frustrated at somebody and he sees somebody who is working on something that doesn't and

fires them on the spot, yells at them. Says they're an idiot. One of the things that a lot of people who work at Tesla says is that once Musk

decides you're not smart enough, for whatever reason, and he can make a flash opinion, you're kind of doomed.

And so one of the stories that our reporter was told repeatedly is that people try to kind of stay away from Elon. When things aren't going well,

they sort of -- you don't walk by his desk. You try to avoid him on the factory floor because you have no idea what he's going to ask and you have

no idea that however you answer, you might put yourself and your job at risk.

[08:40:08]

LU STOUT: Wow. You know, I think the idiot bit, and that was referring to, you know, once Elon Musk sizes you up as an idiot, you're basically an

idiot for life, it's just a harsh situation there, and it's funny because just a few years ago, Elon Musk was here in Hong Kong. We had the

opportunity to speak with him and he comes across as someone who really, really cares about humanity. He cares about sustainable transport. He

cares about our collective future. But, you know, is it harder for him to care about individual people? And if so, why?

THOMPSON: Yes, that's -- you've gotten right at the core of the story. I mean, Elon Musk is this incredibly complicated character. He is the person

who has the best chance of getting humanity out of the climate crisis, right? He's one of the greatest investors, product managers, engineers

we've ever had.

He cares deeply about the human future. He's not just building widgets, he's changing the whole future of transportation. But at the same time, it

seems like he's so caught up in this vision, he can't care about the people who work under him or at least, at the moments of the worst stress. He was

unable to understand and empathize with them and that created just mayhem at his company.

And one of the things we talk about is all the people around him, the top executives who left, who couldn't take it anymore, who loved Tesla's

vision, who want it desperately to succeed, who are happy that model 3 production is working, but just couldn't handle what was happening there.

LU STOUT: You know, Tesla, Elon Musk, they still have fans out there and the company has achieved so much, sold over, what? Half a million luxury

EVs. They're trying to scale production of these more mainstream, at least in terms of price point, model 3s, but they've been facing production

delays, Elon Musk's leadership has been casting doubt. Do you think tesla and Elon Musk will be able to prove the critics wrong?

THOMPSON: Well, they might. I mean, the recent numbers are pretty amazing. During the summer, it was all just disaster after disaster,

calamity after calamity. The numbers were low. They weren't making it. It looked like they put too many robots on the production line. They

weren't able to produce enough cars. Everything was going badly.

And then, come this fall, wait a second, actually, a lot of the changes they have made have worked. And that is part of the genius of Musk is that

he will do things that nobody else can see and nobody else can understand and the genius of Tesla is they built a car as another employee put it to

us in the story, we built a car so simple and elegant that we could produce it even when everything is falling apart and even when the CEO is melting

down.

LU STOUT: Yes, the genius of Tesla and some people call it the mad genius of Elon Musk. Nick Thompson, thank you for sharing your findings on

"WIRED" magazine with us, always good to have you. Take care.

THOMPSON: Great to be here, Kristie. Thank you.

LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream" I'm Kristi Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. We have got "World Sport" with Alex Thomas, up next.

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