Tesla’s most recent earnings report was a roller coaster ride for shareholders and EV fans alike.
There have been some revelations such as vehicle delays, general production issues and, what was more positive for Tesla, a lot of consumer demand. But there was one thing CEO Elon Musk was particularly determined on in his earnings report for the second quarter of July 26th.
“Opposite public sentiment [electric vehicles] is at a turning point, “said Musk in his opening speech. “I think almost everyone agrees that electric vehicles are the only way forward.”
Do they all agree? And are we really limited to driving around in your mom’s Honda Prius if we want environmentally friendly transportation? Let’s dive in.
The short answer is “no” – even Musk himself knows that electric vehicles are not the only answer and often come close to reinventing public transport. But as close as he gets, he usually deviates and creates something much less useful. The Boring Company, for example, is described on their website as building tunnels to “release traffic” and “enable fast point-to-point transportation”.
“Oh,” you say, “like a subway?” Well … they are actually just tunnels for Teslas. And while the loop is significantly faster than a subway, the reality is a lot less sexy on the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, which is currently The Boring Company’s only operational loop.
Reportedly, the tunnel’s top speed was 40 mph in 2021, just a hair slower than some New York subway lines that reach 45 mph, and unlike the subway, the LVCC loop was prone to Traffic.
Musk has also tried upgrading existing public transportation, but those ideas barely made it off the side. Take his Hyperloop transport idea, where pods move passengers back and forth between destinations like a lightning-fast train. This was eventually incorporated into The Boring Company, meaning the chances of shooting across the country like an air hockey puck in a wind tunnel anytime soon are extremely slim.
Musk has also raised the idea of a Tesla bus or minivan situation several times since 2016, but nothing has come of it so far.
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So, about electric vehicles – It’s possible Musk avoids public transportation because he says he just doesn’t like it. At an event in November 2017, Musk said, “Public transport is painful”.
He continued:
“Why do you want to do something? […] that doesn’t stop where you want it And there are a couple of random strangers, one of [whom] could be a serial killer. ”
Let’s hope none of the random strangers currently running LVCC Teslas are serial killers, for Musk’s sake.
Of course, people were angry with Musk for rejecting a method of transportation that was found to be affordable, convenient for millions of people, and environmentally friendly. but we’ll get to that in a moment. Musk doesn’t like public transportation, so he prefers to polish up cars. That’s not inherently bad – for people who have to drive, electric vehicles are a great zero-emission entry into a sustainable life.
But they have to be a stepping stone, not a final destination. Private transport leads to traffic that causes accidents and pollution (not everyone has an electric vehicle). The US obsession with automobiles is also a major contributor to food deserts, which leave 19 million people with a reliable, healthy source of food. (If you can’t afford a car and a bus doesn’t get into your rural town, how do you get to the grocery store miles away?)
The list goes on: electric cars are expensive, not every neighborhood has a charging point or is inaccessible, and electric cars are often designed to make driving difficult for people with disabilities.
Science: electric vehicles are not perfect – This emphasis on cars is also linked to another force that threatens to plunge us all into climate change: overconsumption
Teslas may be pretty green, but their making isn’t. At least we don’t think so. (Tesla doesn’t disclose its greenhouse gas emissions, which doesn’t bode well for a company expanding globally.)
Studies show that the production of electric vehicles generally emits more pollutants than the production of conventional cars. According to Politifact, just making a lithium-ion battery can release the same amount of CO2 that you would emit from driving a gas-guzzling car for two years. It doesn’t help that Musk thinks hydrogen fuel cells, a lithium-ion alternative that can be made with clean energy, are “extremely silly”.
That Inverse Analysis – Electric vehicles are a great alternative to traditional vehicles, but they have far too many social and technical problems to be our “only way forward”. With the climate crisis hanging before us like a smoggy shadow, it is best to weigh all options carefully rather than stick to the convenient status quo.
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