Elon Musk introduces his new right-wing fans to a carbon tax; goes as well as you’d expect
Elon Musk is introducing his new right-wing fans to the idea of implementing a carbon tax, and it goes about as well as you would expect.
Over the last few years, Musk has become a sort of hero of the right.
Regardless of where you stand politically, it is a fascinating situation. I remember not too long ago when the right consistently attacked him for taking advantage of government subsidies at his companies.
A few years later, he buys Twitter, reinstates some previously banned conservative accounts, makes fun of Joe Biden and other democrats, starts to talk about “wokeness” and illegal immigration consistently, and now he is loved by the right.
Through this period, the once zealot climate change warrior who quit President Trump’s business council because he withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement, started talking a lot less about climate change and Tesla’s mission to accelerate to world’s transition to renewable energy.
On top of running six different companies, Tesla’s CEO is virtually a full-time political influencer now.
It is creating an interesting situation. For the first time in a while, Musk decided to use his massively popular X account to promote an idea perceived as left-wing (even though it shouldn’t be political): a carbon tax.
Musk wrote:
Musk has been pushing the idea of a carbon tax for a long time, and it’s interesting to see him introducing the idea to his new right-wing fans.
As you can imagine, it didn’t go too well.
Most of the top-voted comments underneath his post were responses that were quite negative. Here are a few examples:
I had to go down about 50 responses to see a positive response to Musk’s comment. It appears that for better or worse, Musk’s X profile is now dominated by his new right-wing fans.
Electrek’s Take
I am the first to admit that a carbon tax is difficult to implement correctly. In theory, it makes a ton of sense. In fact, free-market conservatives should love it since it fixes the market.
A free market only works if it’s fair and all external costs are accounted for. If external costs are not accounted for, the market becomes inefficient and fails.
A carbon tax accounts for the external costs of emitting carbon. It fixes the market inefficiency – making the true costs (including environmental) accounted for in the costs of the products. The products best for the environment would come up on top.
Now, to agree with that, you need to agree with the vast majority of environmental scientists who say that humanity’s carbon production is contributing to the acceleration of the Earth’s warming.
Yes, the climate has always naturally changed for billions of years, but it doesn’t mean that humans starting to pump billions of metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year is not accelerating it. The data looks clear.
For example, the amount of solar energy the earth is receiving has followed the natural cycle of the sun, and yet, global temperature has increased massively amid increased industrialization:
Therefore, at the very least, we can agree that products emitting less carbon over their entire life cycle are less risky of negatively affecting the environment. So why take more risk?
So, a carbon tax would, at the very least, help reduce the risk of this crazy experiment that humanity is conducting by unearthing carbon and burning it into the atmosphere in incredible amounts.
Now, I agree it’s hard to implement correctly. There are a lot of different aspects to it. For example, it works best if it’s global. Everyone needs to get on board. There’s the idea that the US shouldn’t get involved unless everyone gets involved, but that’s a decision between being a positive leader or accepting to be part of the problem because others don’t want to be part of the solution. I don’t like that mentality.
Also, it needs to be meaningful with a fair price. There have been carbon taxes before, but they had minimal impact because they haven’t really accounted for the trillions of dollars that burning fossil fuels costs worldwide every year.
It’s an incredibly difficult tax to make it fair, but I think it’s one worth doing. There could be a way to do it while reducing other taxes and encouraging people to live lifestyles that emit less carbon. And if you want to keep doing it, you can. It’s just that now it will reflect the true costs of the products.
As a side note, I hate to get too political. I’m not a very political person. I don’t believe that a lot of truly meaningful change in history came from politics and politicians. I don’t consider myself left or right. I approach every issue with an open mind. Please keep that in mind before for call me a leftist for endorsing a carbon tax.
In fact, I think we should go back to the days when this was a bipartisan issue in the US. Conservatives often claim that their side has the better economic policy, and nearly every economist is in favor of a carbon price – because unpriced externalities are a market inefficiency, and a carbon price solves that. Plus, a group of influential republican luminaries, including Bush and Reagan’s Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker, Bush’s Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, and conservative economist Greg Mankiw have all endorsed a carbon price.
One of the main problems is that it’s called a carbon “tax,” and many people, especially conservatives, have a visceral reaction to that word. If that’s your case, please try to get past it and understand the reasoning behind it.
Finally, please keep the comment section civil.
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In less than two weeks, Hyundai will unveil its “groundbreaking” new Pleos brand. The brand will introduce advanced new software and tech that will be used in upcoming Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles. We will also get our first look at its new development platform. Here’s what we know about Hyundai Pleos so far.
What is Hyundai’s new Pleos brand?
“What if mobility had its own software?” Hyundai asked on Tuesday after teasing its new software-defined brand. The company promises Pleos will “redefine mobility,” but how exactly?
A few weeks ago, Hyundai announced it was holding a developer conference to capitalize on the auto industry’s shift toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs).
At the event on March 28, Hyundai will debut its new Pleos brand while showcasing its latest tech, including a new development platform, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving advancements. The new SDV tech will power upcoming Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis models, including EVs.
Hyundai describes Pleos as a symbol of its commitment to providing smart, sustainable mobility solutions. Designed to connect and integrate data, the brand will open the door for innovation and collaboration.
During the conference, we will also see Hyundai’s new software development kits (SDKs) and APIs for its next-gen infotainment systems for the first time. The event will feature an exhibition showcasing potential partnership opportunities.
With Kia launching its first electric van, the PV5, Hyundai Motor is quickly advancing new tech and software “set to redefine mobility.” The PV5 will kick off Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, a total mobility solution combining fit-for-purpose EVs with advanced software.
Hyundai claims that “the future of seamless movement is no longer just an idea—it’s becoming reality” as it gears up to unveil its new mobility software brand, Pleos, on March 28.
With a flood of new EVs and tech on the way, Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis are preparing to shake things up in a big way over the next few years. Stay tuned for more on Hyundai’s software brand.
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Young EV automaker Xiaomi Automotive continues to showcase that it is a force to be reckoned with in China. The automotive division of the massive electronics manufacturer Xiaomi Corporation recently hit 200,000 EV deliveries in record time. As such, the automaker has increased its delivery targets for 2025 as its second all-electric model looks to hit the market this summer.
Xiaomi Automobile is a name that refuses to be ignored in China and the global EV scene. The EV-centric business was spun out from smartphone and electronics manufacturer Xiaomi Corporation in 2021 and has been evolving at a staggering pace ever since.
The automaker launched its first model, the SU7, in March 2024 after faster-than-expected development. It quickly secured over 50,000 orders in the first 27 minutes and currently has a delivery wait time of at least 30 weeks.
In 2024, Xiaomi initially targeted the assembly of 60,000, but the SU7’s tremendous demand led the young automaker to bolster production to keep up. Shortly after the SU7 launch, Xiaomi shared that it had built 10,000 EVs in 32 days before bolstering its production lines in China, hoping to double its initial production and targets.
By mid-November, Xiaomi’s founder shared that the company had reached 100,000 EV builds earlier than expected and could reach 120,000 units before 2025 arrived. When 2024 ended, Xiaomi was reporting 135,000 SU7 deliveries with plans to double that figure in 2025.
Today, Xiaomi reported 200,000 EV deliveries and has once again pushed back its annual goalposts as its sales continue to snowball in China.
Xiaomi raises 2025 target to 350,000 deliveries
Xiaomi touted its latest milestone on Weibo today, noting 200,000 EV deliveries while showcasing the lucky couple who took delivery of their new SU7, seen in the featured image above. What’s most noteworthy about this news is that Xiaomi hit the 200,000 mark in a mere 119 days.
We thought it was fast when the Chinese EV automaker hit 100,000 deliveries in 230 days. Still, momentum continues to increase at Xiaomi HQ, even though the young automaker is only selling one EV model in three variants in addition to a 1,548 horsepower SU7 Ultra (seen above).
As an encore, Xiaomi has already introduced an all-electric SUV called the YU7, which debuted late last year and will compete against the Tesla Model Y in China when it hits the market his summer. With a fresh model on the way and continued demand for its growing lineup, Xiaomi has raised its targeted deliveries for 2025.
With its production facilities now complete in China, Xiaomi previously shared plans to achieve a full annual production capacity of 300,000 units this year. However, Xiaomi now says it is targeting 350,000 deliveries for 2025. Per its Weibo page, its production capacity increase is “progressing smoothly.”
From what we’ve seen from Xiaomi Auto thus far, everything has been smooth sailing. The company’s next milestone should be the official launch of the YU7 SUV, but who knows, it may hit 300,000 deliveries before then.
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This week, prominent Chinese EV automaker NIO and CATL, the world’s leading battery manufacturer, announced a new strategic partnership to combine and standardize their respective industries technologies and implement the “largest and most advanced battery swap network for passenger vehicles.”
When it comes to advanced battery technologies in China, both NIO and CATL are mainstays in the industry discourse. NIO has established itself as one of the leading innovators in EVs and adjacent technologies and has expanded beyond its native China into new global markets.
Simultaneously, CATL has remained the bonafide leader in battery manufacturing and market share for the better part of the last decade and has shown no signs of ceding to its competitors anytime soon. Beyond EV batteries, CATL has introduced its own network of battery swap stations in China, part of a strategy to eventually replace gas stations altogether.
Similarly, battery swaps remain a massive part of NIO’s EV strategy. Its growing networks in China and Europe, not to mention its customer support, have proven to the world that swaps can serve as a viable alternative to traditional charging methods in which the battery pack stays put.
That said, NIO and CATL are no strangers to one another. Prior to today’s news, both companies had established several partnerships to expand battery technology and deliver it to more markets. Today, NIO and CATL have confirmed a new strategic partnership focused on battery swap technology to establish the world’s most prominent network. Given each’s current status in that segment, that goal shouldn’t be too hard to achieve.
CATL signs on to support NIO’s battery swap network
Both companies shared details of their new strategic partnership, which was signed on March 17 in Ningde, Fujian, China. NIO and CATL plan to collaborate and leverage their technological strengths to establish a world-leading battery swap network. Per the release:
Building on unified battery standards, the two parties will strengthen the sharing of their battery swapping networks, and accelerate the adoption and advancement of battery swapping services. CATL will support NIO in developing the battery swapping network, while its Choco-Swap technical standards and network will be introduced to the subsequent newly developed models of firefly, NIO’s new brand.
CATL and NIO stated they will operate in parallel to offer NIO and other EV drivers a more seamless and efficient battery swap network experience. As for many EV automakers, the overall goal is to make BEV travel more convenient to help sway more consumers into going all-electric.
Yesterday, NIO and CATL competitor BYD introduced a new 1,000-volt EV platform that can recharge a vehicle in five minutes thanks to 1,000 kW rates, thus reaching time parity with a traditional gas station visit. Before that news, battery swaps have remained the much faster recharge method, taking between five and eight minutes to pull in, have a battery swapped out, and pull through back onto one’s travels.
NIO and CATL hope to promote this alternative method further in China by jointly developing and adopting national battery swap network standards, which include universal battery compatibility across various makes and models, not just NIO vehicles.
NIO and CATL plan to “complete a lifestyle loop” that includes battery R&D, swapping services, asset management, reutilization, and material recycling. In addition to spreading further adoption, the overall goal will be to reduce costs for swap station operators and EV owners alike while improving overall efficiency across the industry.
This is excellent news for the EV industry in China and let’s hope it finds success overseas so it can expand to other global markets soon.
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