Investor Vinod Khosla says focusing on 2030 climate targets is the wrong approach
SEATTLE — Vinod Khosla, the founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, says 2040 is the more important goalpost in combating climate change than 2030.
Khosla, who is currently worth more than $5 billion according to Forbes, made the claim at the inaugural Breakthrough Energy Summit in Seattle last week.
“If we try and reduce carbon by 2030, we will be much worse off than if we set the reduction target at 2040,” Khosla told an audience of conference attendees.
That’s because Khosla, who cofounded computer hardware firm Sun Microsystems in 1982 and spent 18 years at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, is interested in big bets. Relatedly, in July 2020, Khosla published a Medium post claiming that a dozen ambitious, catalytic leaders would transform the climate space more than a hundred less transformational leaders.
Khosla was on stage with John Doerr, another investor who, like Khosla, invested early in climate tech starting in the early 2000s and then watched as a fair amount of those so-called Clean Tech 1.0 companies flamed out. Collectively, venture capital firms invested more than $25 billion in climate tech companies between 2006 and 2011 and subsequently lost more than half their money, according to a paper from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The investing bust discouraged investors and the sector all but dried up for a few years.
Vinod Khosla and John Doerr speak on stage at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in Seattle on Tuesday October 18.
CNBC Cat Clifford
Doerr was more optimistic about the potential of iterative change than Khosla. “We need more of the technologies that are economic now deployed now,” Doerr said on stage.
But Khosla doubled down on his viewpoint that 2040 is the more consequential deadline.
“People who think we have the technology is wishful thinking. We can deploy the current technologies. I am not saying slow down, but we need the breakthroughs,” Khosla said. “And if we put a short-term window on all the breakthroughs and focus on 2030, we will be worse off in reality, even though I wish it wasn’t true… What we need and what we are likely to get is different. And 2040 is the right goal to set.
Khosla’s view is iconoclastic in the climate space.
In April 2021, President Joe Biden announced that the United States is aiming to reduce net greenhouse gas pollution by 2030 by 50 to 52 percent from 2005 levels, with the ultimate goal of having a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
“We’re planning for a both short-term sprint to 2030 that will keep 1.5 degrees Celsius in reach and for a marathon that will take us to the finish line and transform the largest economy in the world into a thriving, innovative, equitable, and just clean-energy engine of net-zero — for a net-zero world,” Biden said in Glasgow, Scotland, in November at the COP26 summit.
The United Nations’ seminal Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in April states that to have a hope of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the amount of global warming which has been codified in the Paris Climate Accord, greenhouse gases have to peak before 2025 and be reduced by 43% by 2030. Methane would need to be reduced by a third, the report said.
Why Khosla thinks short-term goals are a mistake
Focusing on “short term goals will force us to deploy suboptimal technology,” Khosla told CNBC.
For an innovation to be meaningfully successful, a technology has to be successful without government subsidies. “Every single technology at scale, has to achieve unsubsidized market competitiveness. And if it doesn’t do that, it’s the wrong technology,” Khosla told CNBC.
Nuclear fusion is one example of the kind of breakthrough technology Khosla considers critical, but which will not be commercialized by 2030. Khosla Ventures has invested in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a fusion startup which spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is one of the frontrunners in the fusion space.
Fusion is the way the sun generates power and is the corollary reaction of nuclear fission, which is the way conventional and existing nuclear power reactors generate energy. Fusion has not been replicated at scale on Earth but if it can be, it offers benefits over nuclear fission, including no long-lasting radioactive waste.
Fusion “is an an exciting example,” Khosla told CNBC. “It’s far better than nuclear fission. It’s far better than coal and fossil fuels for sure. But it’s not ready. And we need to get it ready and build it.” (Khosla is not alone: The private sector fusion industry has seen almost $5 billion in private investment, according to the Fusion Industry Association.)
Khosla is 67 years old and he says “it’s likely while I’m still working — and I plan to work for a while, health permitting — will see every coal and natural gas plant in this country replaced with a fusion boiler. Every single one. That’s the goal. Within my working lifetime.”
Another transformative example is deep, advanced geothermal energy, which comes from the natural heat of the earth underground.
“But I’m not interested in today’s geothermal, because it is such a niche — it doesn’t scale,” Khosla told CNBC.
“We focused on the wrong problem, which is take existing geothermal and make it slightly more efficient, instead of saying create 100 times more sites where geothermal can be mined” by drilling much deeper into the earth where there are much hotter temperatures, Khosla said.
For example, Khosla pointed to the work deep geothermal company Quaise is doing. (Khosla was the company’s first financial backer.)
“A super hot rock well, like 500 degrees, will produce 10 times the power of a 200-degree well. And that’s what we need,” Khosla said. “If we can drill deep enough we can get to those temperatures — many, many — all of Western United States could be powered with just geothermal wells, because there’s geothermal everywhere if you go 15 kilometers, 10 miles deep.”
Environment
Tesla’s Robyn Denholm made 5x more than next best-paid chair, a role Musk said was usefuless
Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chairwoman, made five times more money than the next best-paid board chair, a role Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said was useless.
In 2018, Musk settled with the SEC for falsely claiming he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 a share, he was forced to resign as chair of Tesla’s board.
Musk basically handpicked Robyn Denholm to become the new chair, which he then called a useless “honorific” titled:
“Chairman’ is an honorific, not executive role, which means it’s not needed to run Tesla. Will retire that title at Tesla in 3 years.”
Denholm made a lot of money in this useless honorific role.
She has made over $530 million, almost entirely through stock option compensation, since becoming Tesla’s chairperson.
Most of her stock sales happened over the last year:
The New York Times released a new report looking into Denholm’s compensation and found that she was paid about 5 times more than the next best-paid nonexecutive chair.
Tesla paid its chair about 5 times more than UnitedHealth’s:
The nonexecutive chair with the next-highest profit from selling shares in the company he oversees was Stephen Hemsley of UnitedHealth Group. Mr. Hemsley has earned more than $100 million from the sale of UnitedHealth shares since November 2018, though he received all of that stock while he was chief executive of the health care company.
To Musk’s point about the role being honorific, it’s not clear what Denholm accomplished during her time as chair.
She and the rest of Tesla’s board oversee Tesla’s executive management, led by Musk, but Musk has been allowed to do whatever he wants for years.
They have backed his every move, granted him a $55 billion CEO compensation package, and remained silent when he threatened Tesla shareholders that he would not develop AI products at Tesla unless given a larger, more controlling share of the company, or decided to fire Tesla’s entire charging team to make an example out of the head of the team.
Most recently, they have not addressed the protests at Tesla stores and product boycotts, which are attributed to Musk’s involvement in politics, angering a significant portion of the population and Tesla’s consumer base.
Only recently was there a report suggesting the board floated the idea of replacing Musk to gain leverage in forcing him to spend more time at Tesla. Even then, the board quickly denied the report, which only claimed that they were doing their jobs in planning the CEO succession.
Electrek’s Take
Based on Musk’s comment, Denholm was paid half a billion dollars to do nothing. That’s literally all that was required of her after replacing Musk as chair of the board: nothing.
Musk is in charge. She is just an “honorific” figurehead that is required to back his every move.
Just as Tesla’s then-third-largest individual shareholder, after Musk, Leo KoGuan, told Electrek last year, when he couldn’t get his concerns about Musk heard by the board, Tesla is “a family business masquerading as a public company.”
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Environment
UrbanLink nearly doubles order of REGENT electric seagliders to transport over 4M passengers a year
Less than a year after announcing an order for 27 electric seaglider planes from REGENT Craft, advanced air mobility (AAM) specialist UrbanLink has nearly doubled that order size to support plans for high-frequency commercial flights around the southeastern United States.
While advanced air mobility may be a nascent industry, companies around the globe are continuously gearing up to establish commercial networks that support air taxi travel and other sustainable commercial operations. In the US, particularly Southern Florida, UrbanLink has been making tons of moves to establish itself as a major player in that space when it happens.
UrbanLink has already been working for years to enable zero-emission, end-to-end travel within a 500-mile range by 2028 before expanding that range to 1,000 miles by 2030, beginning with its hub cities of Miami, Los Angeles, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The company believes its actions have adequately positioned it to become the first airline in the US to integrate electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft into its fleet. Fellow eVTOL network Archer Aviation is also in the race, so it’s exciting times for commercial air taxi development.
UrbanLink has committed to purchasing from several eVTOL and electric plane developers, including Artemis Sea Crafts, Eviation Aircraft, and Lilium, as we reported back in June 2024. Last fall, the AAM operator announced it was adding more vessels to its growing fleet in South Florida, committing to purchase 27 electric seagliders from REGENT Craft.
Today, UrbanLink and REGENT announced an expansion of their existing partnership in which the former has upped its purchase order to 47 electric seagliders.
UrbanLink ups seaglider order to support FL, Puerto Rico
REGENT Craft and UrbanLink shared details of the expanded partnership this morning, in hopes of establishing Florida as the bona fide leader in sustainable coastal aerial mobility.
Per the company, the nearly doubling of the existing order for REGENT’s Viceroy electric seagliders will support a more rapid rollout of UrbanLink’s aerial operations between the southern Florida and Puerto Rico regions. REGENT co-founder and CEO Billy Thalheimer spoke about the expanded seaglider order:
UrbanLink’s expanded order is a clear vote of confidence in REGENT’s seaglider technology and is testament to our continued timely execution certification and product development milestones. Together, we’re building a more convenient and connected future for coastal communities.
As the map above shows, electric sea glider travel can cut the travel time from Miami to West Palm Beach by nearly 75%. This single route represents a growing demand for convenient and more sustainable alternatives for short-haul travel in the US, and UrbanLink hopes to provide that to Florida visitors and beyond.
For example, the company shared that it anticipates that its seaglider operations in Miami alone could provide more sustainable travel options to up to 4.3 million passengers per year when commercial operations begin. UrbanLink founder and chairman Ed Wegel also spoke:
We’re proud to expand our partnership with REGENT and bring this revolutionary technology to more passengers traveling high-demand routes across Florida and Puerto Rico. This partnership propels Florida to the forefront of global innovation in advanced, all-electric mobility.
REGENT’s full-scale Viceroy electric seaglider prototype is currently in the process of successful sea trials en route to certification from the US Coast Guard. These 12-passenger vessels can reach up to 180 mph and travel up to 180 miles on a single charge.
First deliveries of the Viceroy seagliders to UrbanLink are expected to begin sometime in 2027.
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It’s official. Toyota is finally launching a new EV in the US. The C-HR will return in what’s expected to be an affordable electric SUV. Here’s our first look at the 2026 Toyota C-HR, a surprisingly stylish EV with nearly 300 miles of range.
Meet the 2026 Toyota C-HR electric SUV for the US
Who could forget the original Toyota C-HR? The funky-looking compact SUV was priced under $25,000 but was discontinued in 2022 to make way for the more efficient Corolla Cross hybrid.
The C-HR will make a comeback in the US as a fully electric SUV with nearly 300 miles of range. After revealing the electric SUV in Europe earlier this year, Toyota confirmed on Wednesday that the C-HR will, in fact, arrive in the US.
Outside of a “+” added at the end of the name (C-HR+), the US and European versions look nearly identical. The electric version is a drastic upgrade over the retired gas-powered model.
Toyota gave it a stylish new look with an updated design closer to its new Corolla and Crown. The smaller SUV features Toyota’s “hammerhead front end” with slim LED headlights and distinct character lines.
The C-HR EV is 177.9″ long, 73.6″ wide, and 63.8″ tall, or about the size of the Kia Niro EV (174″ long, 72″ wide, and 62″ tall). It’s also a bit smaller than the bZ4X SUV, Toyota’s first EV, at 185″ long, 73″ wide, and 65″ tall.
Powered by a 74.7 kWh battery, Toyota expects the 2026 C-HR will get up to 290 miles of driving range. It will also be equipped with an NACS port to access Tesla’s Supercharger network. Using DC fast charging, the electric SUV can recharge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes.
The 2026 C-HR will come with standard AWD with up to 338 hp. Toyota said the added power is good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in around 5 seconds.
Stylish new design inside and out
Toyota’s new EV will be available in SE and XSE trim with “great interior features.” These include a 14″ touchscreen infotainment system with Toyota Audio Multimedia system (with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support), a digital driver display, wireless phone chargers, and the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 system.
Other standard features include a power liftgate, low-profile roof rails, and rain-sensing wipers. You can also choose from 18″ or 20″ wheels and several different paint colors.
The XSE model gains 20″ gun metal finished wheels, SofTex and synthetic suede-trimmed seats, a Digital Rearview Mirror with HomeLink, a Panoramic view Monitor, and more.
Toyota will offer the 2026 C-HR in fully electric (EV), Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and Fuel Cell powertrain options. The new electric SUV is expected to arrive at dealerships across the US in 2026.
The new C-HR debut comes just a day after Toyota revealed its new bZ electric SUV for the US. Toyota is dropping the “bZ4X” name and giving it some significant upgrades, including more range (now up to 314 miles), a built-in NACS port, and more.
Although Toyota has yet to reveal prices, since the C-HR is smaller than the bZ4X, it’s expected to start at around $35,000.
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