At a press conference following the launch of his company Blue Origin’s first manned flight, Bezos thanked those employees for helping him earn enough money to be able to launch into space on a rocket.
The world’s richest man has faced continued criticism for amassing his fortune while his company’s employees complain that they are subjected to harsh work practices and low wages.
Controversial statement by Jeff Bezos.
Video via Twitter: @AnandWrites
“I want to thank all the Amazon employees, and all the Amazon customers, because you’ve paid for all of this,” he said to the audience’s laughter. “Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I really appreciate it.”
The thanks sparked outrage on Twitter, where politicians and other commentators argued that the comment showed Mr. Bezos should pay more taxes.
Translation: “Thanks for letting me exploit your labor and profit off of you literally peeing in bottles so that I could enjoy a few seconds at zero gravity!” https://t.co/U14JJTkZEj
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) July 20, 2021
“Translation: ‘Thank you for letting me exploit your work and benefit from you literally urinating on bottles so I can enjoy a few seconds in zero gravity!'” wrote Democrat Mark Pocan.
Bezos: “A tiny and fragile thing”
On the other hand, Bezos said he was “stunned” by the beauty of the Earth, after that trip that marks a milestone for space tourism.
“Everyone who has been in space has said that it changed them and that they were amazed, stunned, by the Earth and its beauty, but also by its fragility, and I couldn’t agree more,” the Amazon founder said at a press conference after his flight.
He added that while the atmosphere seemed to be “so big” from the surface, when you rise “you see it’s actually incredibly thin, it’s a tiny, fragile thing.”
The Blue Origin team received congratulations from NASA, while Virgin Galactic founder British tycoon Richard Branson tweeted, “Well done!”.
The British millionaire made the trip on July 11, narrowly beating the Amazon tycoon, but reached only 86 km altitude. But Bezos, like Branson, insists it’s not a competition.
“We must build a path to space so that our children and grandchildren can build the future,” he said Tuesday.
Bezos, 57, founded Blue Origin in 2000 with the goal of one day building floating space colonies with artificial gravity where millions of people will work and live.
It’s going to take decades, it’s a big ambition,” Bezos said.
