Elon Musk Is No Climate Hero

WIRED has been penning astir Elon Musk—he of the electric cars, space rockets, tunnel-boring machines, implantable encephalon interfaces, Mars mission, and internet shitposting—for a long time. He’s ever been unpredictable. And yet the astir shocking portion of his two-hour interview with Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump, broadcast unrecorded connected X earlier this week, whitethorn conscionable person been what Musk didn’t say.

It happened astir the 50-minute mark, during a precise Trumpian treatment of state and energy prices. They were up nationally, Trump said, but “when that comes down and [sic] we’re going to drill, baby, drill.”

The siren opus of the lipid and state industry! Literally: Drill, baby, drill! And Musk, helium of the—I’m going to accidental it again—electric cars and “saving the world” schtick, didn’t tube up until a afloat 2 minutes later, erstwhile helium suggested that Trump acceptable up a “government ratio commission” to curb authorities spending. Later, helium and Trump did person a little speech connected the subject of clime change. But Musk took pains to stress that the lipid and state manufacture isn’t the problem. “I’m pro-environment, but … I don’t deliberation we should vilify the lipid and state industry, due to the fact that they’re keeping civilization going close now,” helium said.

This felt similar a departure. Musk has spent a ample chunk of his vocation casting himself arsenic an biology champion, sometimes going truthful acold arsenic to overgarment himself arsenic the 1 antheral lasting betwixt the satellite and disaster. He has told the communicative of Tesla, successful particular, arsenic a hero’s travel to prevention the satellite done a modulation to a sustainable vigor economy. “I deliberation I americium objectively 1 of the world's starring environmentalists successful presumption of doing things,” helium said at an Italian governmental event past December.

In 2017, Musk told Rolling Stone astir the wide existential menace of clime alteration with a flair that inactive feels familiar. “Climate alteration is the biggest menace that humanity faces this century, but for AI,” helium said. “I support telling radical this. I hatred to beryllium Cassandra here, but it’s each amusive and games until idiosyncratic loses a fucking eye. This presumption [of clime change] is shared by astir everyone who’s not brainsick successful the technological community.” Musk has besides regularly accused critics of carrying water for “fossil substance companies.”

Oh, and retrieve that clip (June 2017) that Musk quit 3 of Trump’s statesmanlike councils aft the US pulled retired of the Paris clime accords? “Climate alteration is real,” helium tweeted astatine the time. “Leaving Paris is not bully for America oregon the world.”

Musk’s newer and wishy-washy attack to clime besides reflects not lone his very vocal clasp of far-right politics but besides a caller communicative he’s telling astir Tesla. For the past fewer years, and particularly arsenic the chatter astir artificial quality has deed a fever pitch, Musk has positioned his electric-auto shaper arsenic a path-breaker successful robotic intelligence, too. In 2019, Musk announced that Tesla would person 1 cardinal robotaxis connected the roadworthy by the extremity of the year. (It didn’t). More recently, Tesla reportedly shifted resources from gathering a much affordable electrical car, the mythical Model 2, to releasing a purpose-built robotaxi, adjacent though the institution has yet to uncover immoderate existent self-driving technology. (An unveiling lawsuit is scheduled for October.) Musk has said repeatedly that Tesla is an AI and robotics institution and should beryllium valued by investors arsenic such. If Musk is backing disconnected his endorsement of clime alteration science, it’s tenable to inquire if that relates to his selling pivot for the astir invaluable car institution successful the world.