Anything but Tesla? Musk’s anti-climate rhetoric and actions are poison for the world’s largest electric car company
by oldgrowthforests
Anything but Tesla? Musk’s anti-climate rhetoric and actions are poison for the world’s largest electric car company
by oldgrowthforests
4 comments
I’m not giving that man any of my money; avoiding all his companies. He’s a nut.
“Evidence shows that consumers in nearly all countries are increasingly put off by Musk’s behaviour, and it *is* affecting Tesla sales ([Reuters 2024](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/would-be-tesla-buyers-snub-company-musks-reputation-dips-2024-04-01/#:~:text=%22A%20modest%20but%20growing%20number,California%2Dbased%20consultancy%20AutoPacific%20said.)). But after Musk’s two hour conversation with Donald Trump in August, which included the “dumbest climate conversation of all time” according to Bill [McKibben](https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-dumbest-climate-conversation), this will surely get worse. Not only is Musk endorsing and funding the campaign of a man who promises to dismantle efforts to curb climate change, he has now descended into climate denial himself.
The risk of climate change, according to Musk, is not as high as people think, and he is more worried about the direct health affects of CO2, saying “If you go past a thousand parts per million of CO2, you start getting headaches and nausea.” It’s worth noting that last time the earth was at 1000 ppm of carbon dioxide, 50 million years ago, it was 10 degrees Celcius (18 F) warmer and the sea level was 60 meters (200 feet) higher ([Royal Society 2020](https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/question-7/#:~:text=At%2050%20million%20years%20ago,metres%20higher%20than%20current%20levels.)). Since the highest point in Florida is 105 m above sea level there will still be some islands left where the third most populous state of the US used to be, but not much room for golf courses at 1000 ppm. Extreme climate change would also likely lead to mass migration and population collapse long before 1000 ppm.”
Tesla was always just about the hype. They will get crushed by Chinese EVs on price and quality.
The other car companies and their CEOs have been poison for many decades now. Despite things Musk say, none of them is bold enough to wean away from O&G. Except maybe Rivian and smaller ones.