Betrayed by Elon Musk – CleanTechnica

Join every day information updates from CleanTechnica on electronic mail. Or comply with us on Google Information!

Final Up to date on: twenty eighth March 2025, 10:48 am

My Tesla Mannequin 3 is occurring 6 years outdated now and my spouse and I nonetheless adore it. Nevertheless, my spouse simply got here house with the bumper sticker proven above.

I’m an enormous proponent of electrical automobiles (EVs) and clear vitality. In any other case, why would this be my 154^th article for CleanTechnica. Even after 6 years, I observe that the know-how of electrical vehicles basically and my Mannequin 3 particularly is unimaginable. Only one instance: My Mannequin 3 is approaching 150,000 miles and nonetheless going sturdy in each respect. If I had pushed a fuel automobile this far and adjusted the oil each 3,000 miles at Jiffy Lube as advisable, that will be out 50 hours of my time and $2,500. Not a single oil change is required for an EV. Even in the event you solely change your oil each 5,000 miles, it might be 30 hours and $1,500 misplaced.

A bit background: I’m an emeritus scientist at NASA Goddard House Flight Middle and was promoted 5 occasions within the 30 years I labored there. Maybe I carried out helpful service for the American individuals. I’m so glad to not be a authorities worker within the period of Trump.

Moreover coming to America 30 years in the past as an basically penniless immigrant and changing into the richest man on the planet, Elon Musk has achieved many issues. I was a giant fan of Elon. His hits and misses are listed beneath.

• Up till Elon’s firm House X, in the event you launched multi-stage rocket into house, you dumped the massive first stage into the ocean. Elon’s firm found out get that massive first stage to land tail first on a barge within the ocean after which reuse the rocket a number of occasions at enormous financial savings. Who would have thunk it?
• NASA gave Boeing (the corporate that constructed the B-29 in WWII, the primary jet refueling tankers, the 707, 720, (1570) 747s, 767, and (7283) 737 industrial airliners) ~$5 billion and SpaceX ~$3 billion. The duty: change the house shuttle and fly cargo and astronauts to the House Station. SpaceX beat Boeing by years flying cargo and astronauts to the Station and I don’t have to say the 2 astronauts who just lately spent 8 months on the House Station as a result of Boeing’s rocket did not get them house. They only got here house on a SpaceX rocket.
• SpaceX developed the Starlink communications system which lets you entry the web and do Wi-Fi calling from anyplace on the planet. SpaceX presently has 7,052 functioning Starlink satellites that it put into orbit. Elon has given the Ukrainians the Starlink dishes and routers and licensed them to make use of the system to battle the Russians.
• Elon was the driving power on the Tesla Mannequin S, X, 3, Y, and Cybertruck, plus the unimaginable Supercharger EV charging system that has confirmed that EVs are a viable different (and far superior) to fuel vehicles even for cross-country journey. By the best way, the Mannequin Y has been the bestselling automobile on this planet for 2 years working (higher than the Ford F-150, Toyota Hilux (Tacoma), Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord and Civic). Tesla has additionally developed the unimaginable Full Self Driving synthetic intelligence driving system that works with each Tesla since 2018 in all places within the US (nevertheless, it hasn’t lived as much as Musk’s full automation guarantees). The Tesla Semi exhibits promise, however hasn’t gone into mass manufacturing after 7 years.
• He additionally has The Boring Firm, which digs tunnels. It has dug a brief tunnel in Las Vegas, however hasn’t revolutionized city transportation.
• In case you have watched Musk lead public occasions, you already know that he’s a crummy public speaker. (He’s no Steve Jobs.)

Tesla promised on its web site that its aim was to revolutionize transportation and make it “clear.”

How has Elon betrayed us?

• The aim to revolutionize transportation and make it “clear” has been faraway from the Tesla web site.
• Elon has thrown his full help behind Donald Trump (I’ll define how this can be a betrayal beneath).
• Elon has gone wild together with his DOGE crew, with the purported aim of eliminating waste within the federal authorities (I’ll define how this can be a betrayal beneath).
• The rationale Musk is the richest particular person on this planet is that the market cap of Tesla is larger than the highest 35 automakers on this planet mixed. At its peak, its market cap was one of many prime 5 corporations on this planet. Since Musk owns billions of {dollars} price of Tesla shares, that’s the supply of a giant a part of his wealth. He betrayed Tesla stockholders when he bought billions of {dollars} of his shares to purchase Twitter. He’s additionally betraying Tesla stockholders now as Tesla is changing into a unclean phrase due to his work with DOGE for Trump, which is driving the inventory value down.

How is supporting Trump a betrayal?

• Trump is among the most anti-EVs and anti-clean vitality individuals on the planet.
• Trump solicited marketing campaign contributions from the fossil gas business with the promise that if elected he would do all the pieces he might to kill EVs and clear vitality manufacturing.
• Trump hates wind generators (you’ll be able to see some on the horizon at certainly one of his properties, and he has had a campaign in opposition to them ever since).
• Trump has canceled all offshore wind farm leases in US waters.
• Trump has canceled all of the Biden cash allotted for EV chargers.
• Trump plans to kill all EV subsidies, just like the $7,500 tax rebate you get for purchasing a brand new EV with sufficient US-made content material. (One of many arguments for eradicating EV subsidies is that EVs ought to compete on a degree taking part in floor with fossil gas vehicles. Nevertheless, nobody is proposing to cancel the billions of {dollars} of subsidies the fossil gas corporations have been receiving since WWI).

How is Elon’s work at DOGE a betrayal?

• DOGE is firing as many authorities workers as it might with only one criterion: that are the best to fireplace? He has fired hundreds of probationary workers with no regard to how nicely they’re doing their jobs. These are actually for essentially the most half the youngest, finest certified workers within the federal authorities. Nevertheless, they’re additionally just lately promoted workers, who in some circumstances have been of their careers for many years. They’re advised they don’t seem to be doing their jobs, which is a lie. Most of the fired workers are US navy veterans. Others are single mother and father (some widowed) supporting kids. Many have just lately been promoted due to excellent work and are nonetheless within the probationary interval for his or her new jobs.
• All these fired have uprooted their lives to take their jobs and now they’re out of labor. You may suppose that Musk can be respectful and remorseful of firing these workers. As an alternative, Musk is working round gleefully waving a chainsaw.
• The rationale for all of the firing of presidency workers is to cut back the dimensions of the federal deficit. Throughout Trump’s first time period, Republicans handed a giant tax lower that went primarily to the wealthy and to companies. This tax lower elevated the federal deficit by trillions (sure, trillions) of {dollars}. With the intention to make the deficits because of the tax lower seem smaller, the laws was sunsetted after 5 years. All of this faux fear in regards to the federal deficit is barely to make the extension of this reward to the wealthy and companies much less objectionable.

If you happen to discover any of my articles useful to you and also you wish to purchase a Tesla, be happy to make use of my referral hyperlink: https://ts.la/arthur73734. In case you are shopping for a brand new Tesla and use my hyperlink (make sure you use it if you make your order), you’ll obtain $1,000 off your buy value of a Mannequin 3 or Mannequin Y and three months of Full Self-Driving. (Simply be ready to intervene instantly if it screws up.)