Elon Musk endorses carbon tax at Tesla shareholder meeting

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again endorsed the concept of a federal carbon tax on the firm’s 2021 annual shareholder assembly on Thursday.

He mentioned the three elements of a “sustainable future,” in his view, are photo voltaic and wind energy, batteries for vitality storage, and electrical autos of each form together with vehicles, boats and airplanes.

“As we transfer to a sustainable vitality grid and electrical autos, then clearly we transfer to a completely sustainable vitality financial system which is the place we need to get to as shortly as attainable. The earlier the higher! And may there be a carbon tax? I imply like, what the hell,” Musk mentioned Thursday, expressing impatience.

A carbon tax, or tax on greenhouse gasoline emissions, has lengthy been proposed as a approach to scale back the emission of gases that trigger local weather change, significantly carbon dioxide. Some advocates imagine {that a} carbon tax ought to improve over time to offer business time to find and roll out lower-carbon alternate options to the merchandise and processes they use that do emit CO2.

Greater than 40 governments have adopted some type of worth on carbon, based on the New York Times, however america has not.

A carbon tax would assist Tesla by making gasoline costlier, which might make its electrical autos extra engaging, and by growing vitality costs, which may encourage householders to undertake photo voltaic panels from Tesla and different suppliers. Musk acknowledged as a lot, however famous it could damage his re-usable rocket enterprise, SpaceX, a substantial client of fossil fuels that plans to drill for pure gasoline and to make use of methane in its rocket operations in Boca Chica.

“So how a couple of carbon tax? We simply actually need it,” he mentioned.

Musk additionally strongly endorsed the concept of getting extra supplies out of spent batteries via improved recycling know-how and processes.

“Battery supplies are positively recyclable. Burning gasoline isn’t. CO2 is a particularly steady molecule. Mars’ environment has been primarily CO2 for I do not know billions of years. It is extraordinarily steady. So, generally folks fear about methane. Don’t worry an excessive amount of about methane. Methane shortly breaks down into CO2. Methane isn’t a steady molecule. CO2 is extraordinarily steady,” Musk urged his viewers, as if looking for to justify SpaceX’s use of methane.

In response to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Methane is greater than 25 occasions as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping warmth within the environment.” Methane can be the second most ample greenhouse gasoline emitted via human exercise and business, second after carbon dioxide. It accounts for about 20% of worldwide greenhouse gasoline emissions.

On Thursday, Tesla additionally confirmed that it has moved its headquarters to Austin.

Musk expects the Texas manufacturing unit, dubbed Giga-Austin, to comply with within the footsteps of Tesla’s Shanghai manufacturing unit, which now produces extra electrical vehicles than are made in its unique manufacturing unit in Fremont, California.

Not less than 12 months’s annual shareholder assembly, Musk proclaimed that battery and manufacturing advances Tesla is engaged on may quickly result in decrease priced vehicles from the corporate. “About 3 years from now, we’re assured we will make a really compelling $25,000 electrical automobile that is additionally absolutely autonomous,” he mentioned then. Tesla additionally mentioned final 12 months that it designed and was producing its personal 4680 battery cells at a facility in Fremont, California.

On Thursday, Musk didn’t give an replace on timing for a $25,000 electrical automobile.

However he did say that Tesla wouldn’t be producing 4680 battery cells in Texas this 12 months. As an alternative, it could produce these cells at its pilot facility in Fremont, and ship them to Texas to as Mannequin Y manufacturing ramps up there.

Lengthy-term Musk mentioned he believes the crossover utility automobile is prone to change into Tesla’s best-seller, surpassing the Mannequin 3 sedan in recognition.

Earlier this month, Tesla mentioned it delivered 241,300 electric vehicles in the course of the third quarter of 2021, and produced 237,823 vehicles in the identical interval.

Deliveries are the closest approximation to gross sales reported by Tesla. The corporate achieved a brand new document as different automakers’ deliveries declined in comparison with the identical time final 12 months, owing largely to produce chain points together with a world chip scarcity.

Musk would not see international provide chain points resolving absolutely till 2023, he mentioned Thursday.