Betrayed by Elon Musk – CleanTechnica

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

My Tesla Mannequin 3 is happening 6 years previous now and my spouse and I nonetheless find it irresistible. Nonetheless, my spouse simply got here residence 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 expertise of electrical vehicles usually and my Mannequin 3 particularly is unimaginable. Only one instance: My Mannequin 3 is approaching 150,000 miles and nonetheless going robust in each respect. If I had pushed a fuel automotive this far and altered the oil each 3,000 miles at Jiffy Lube as advisable, that may be out 50 hours of my time and $2,500. Not a single oil change is required for an EV. Even when you solely change your oil each 5,000 miles, it will be 30 hours and $1,500 misplaced.

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

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

• Up till Elon’s firm House X, when you launched multi-stage rocket into house, you dumped the large first stage into the ocean. Elon’s firm found out find out how to get that huge first stage to land tail first on a barge within the ocean after which reuse the rocket a number of occasions at big 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 business 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 not too long ago spent 8 months on the House Station as a result of Boeing’s rocket didn’t get them residence. They only got here residence 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 combat 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 automotive on this planet for 2 years operating (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 every single place within the US (nonetheless, 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.
• You probably have watched Musk lead public occasions, you recognize that he’s a crummy public speaker. (He’s no Steve Jobs.)

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

How has Elon betrayed us?

• The purpose to revolutionize transportation and make it “clear” has been faraway from the Tesla web site.
• Elon has thrown his full assist behind Donald Trump (I’ll define how it is a betrayal beneath).
• Elon has gone wild along with his DOGE crew, with the purported purpose of eliminating waste within the federal authorities (I’ll define how it is a betrayal beneath).
• The explanation 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 high 5 corporations on this planet. Since Musk owns billions of {dollars} value of Tesla shares, that’s the supply of a big 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 grimy phrase due to his work with DOGE for Trump, which is driving the inventory worth down.

How is supporting Trump a betrayal?

• Trump is among the most anti-EVs and anti-clean vitality folks on the planet.
• Trump solicited marketing campaign contributions from the fossil gasoline trade with the promise that if elected he would do every little thing he may to kill EVs and clear vitality manufacturing.
• Trump hates wind generators (you possibly can see some on the horizon at one among his properties, and he has had a campaign towards 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 getting 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 stage enjoying floor with fossil gasoline vehicles. Nonetheless, nobody is proposing to cancel the billions of {dollars} of subsidies the fossil gasoline corporations have been receiving since WWI).

How is Elon’s work at DOGE a betrayal?

• DOGE is firing as many authorities workers as it will probably with only one criterion: that are the best to fireplace? He has fired hundreds of probationary workers with no regard to how properly they’re doing their jobs. These are in truth for probably the most half the youngest, greatest certified workers within the federal authorities. Nonetheless, they’re additionally not too long ago promoted workers, who in some instances have been of their careers for many years. They’re informed they aren’t doing their jobs, which is a lie. Lots of the fired workers are US army veterans. Others are single dad and mom (some widowed) supporting kids. Many have not too long ago 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 could be respectful and remorseful of firing these workers. As an alternative, Musk is operating round gleefully waving a chainsaw.
• The rationale for all of the firing of presidency workers is to scale 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 a view 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 present to the wealthy and companies much less objectionable.

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