Op-Ed: Elon Musk’s Twitter shows its dark side
Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has become the voice of a growing movement of engineers, scientists, and the general public who believe that the time has come to address concerns about the safety and the long-term reliability of the batteries that power most of our transportation, storage, and energy needs. I read his tweets on the issue and was struck by his anger at the current state of affairs.
His views are understandable because he is acutely aware of the risks from an energy system that he believes is at the heart of the problem. He is also the creator of a new company dedicated to addressing those risks, by creating the energy storage technology that is in the heart of his solution.
I reached out to the Musk representative for his thoughts on the idea of an op-ed on the topic.
Dear Michael:
Thank you for the message.
I am very happy to write here, because many people read my tweets and comments on Tesla’s website. The issue is clearly very important to me, and even more so to the Tesla community and to the broader energy consumer. Tesla’s core value is that they are about delivering energy at the lowest cost, as well as providing the best quality energy. Our customers are paying the highest utility rates in history ($0.09/kWh for a residential customer). This is a very attractive proposition to consumers, especially when you consider the range of energy generation options and the lack of environmental benefits compared to fossil fuels.
This is an issue that is of utmost importance to Tesla, which is why it is important to share our perspective. I will focus on some of the risks being raised by Tesla’s critics.
Risks addressed
Electric Cars to Lose their Edge
While battery storage is a critical technology for electric cars, Tesla’s focus does not have to be on electric vehicles alone. The Tesla Model 3 is already the most efficient car on the road, in terms of range. The Tesla Roadster, with its much lower range, is a perfect fit for the city where it is most needed. Our recent model was demonstrated on the streets of Los Angeles. It performed beautifully on our streets, and also at our test track in the Mojave Desert.
Elon