Elon Musk's Transition From Green Car Entrepreneur To Clueless Climate Science-Denying Asshole Approaches Completion

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Earlier this year, top executives at Tesla gathered in Palo Alto to sell CEO Elon Musk on a line of compact cars that would bring the electric-vehicle revolution to budget-conscious consumers across the world. The more affordable car had long been part of Musk’s master plan for Tesla to fight climate change by “accelerat[ing] the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” But Musk axed the proposal, amid budget constraints, according to two people close to Musk who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Instead, the billionaire green-lit a massive purchase of computer chips, in a deal worth billions intended to enhance Tesla’s luxury cars (and a humanoid robot called Optimus) with energy-intensive artificial intelligence capabilities.

The internal deliberations over the so-called Tesla Model 2, which have not previously been reported, reflect what sources close to Musk describe as a significant shift in the billionaire’s attitude toward climate change. And with Musk deeply embedded in the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, his startling transformation from environmental crusader to critic of dire climate predictions could help bolster moves in Washington against clean energy — and even electric vehicles. Once one of the most vocal American executives on the dangers of climate change, Musk called for a “popular uprising” against the fossil fuel industry in a 2016 film. At Tesla, every internal slide presentation had to include figures from former vice president Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” citing rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, a reminder of the company’s mission.

But the paragraph about global warming is no longer required in Tesla’s presentation decks and climate change has plummeted on Musk’s list of priorities: In an August live stream on X, he told Trump “we don’t need to rush” to solve the climate crisis. People familiar with Musk’s thinking say the billionaire still believes global warming is a problem, a point he made online as recently as last year. But he now thinks the existential risks from climate-related disasters have been overstated — views influenced by a right-wing universe he has come to inhabit online and in real life in Texas, according to five people familiar with Musk’s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

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As Trump prepares to take office in January, speeding the launch cadence at SpaceX is at the top of Musk’s wish list for the new administration, according to a person close to him. He also wants to limit oversight of the rocket company by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which are assessing the environmental impact of SpaceX’s South Texas launch facility. Musk also may lobby for policies allowing Starlink to launch more satellites and increase their competitiveness in the United States, the person said, and for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to streamline the regulation of autonomous vehicles, which Musk has called “the future” of Tesla.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/10/elon-musk-climate-change-worldview-trump/