The company's chairman and president, Akio Toyoda, has made it a tradition to cry at shareholder meetings, which he has said he sees as occasions to look in the mirror. The grandson of the company’s founder sees himself as facing off with disparaging elites, a perception that mirrors how he talks about the transition to electric vehicles. In December, he said he was standing up for a “silent majority” in the auto industry that questions whether it's right to make EVs the sole option for car buyers.
