You’ll die without a solar roof says Musk, whose admin made it harder to get solar
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that “your family’s life might depend on” having solar, despite that he’s part of a US government administration that has already made it harder to get solar, and seems poised to try to make it even harder.
Tesla hosted its Q4 and full year 2024 earnings call today, missing expectations on revenue and earnings. The company had its first down sales year since 2011, despite a rising EV market. The market initially responded poorly to the numbers, but recovered as Tesla guided a return to growth.
As part of the call, an investor asked if Tesla had given up on ramping its solar roof. The product was originally unveiled way back in 2016, and hasn’t particularly lived up to the hyped expectations of the time (especially due to some, uh, hiccups along the way).
Tesla’s answer highlighted that the roof remains a core part of its residential product portfolio, along with Powerwall, and that it draws a lot of customer interest despite it being a “premium” product (in contrast to original promises that it would cost less than a regular roof). But Tesla isn’t installing the roof itself, it says it would rather produce units to send to the roofing industry.
Then, CEO Elon Musk went into a soliloquy about the benefits of having home solar, which are true if perhaps a little overstated:
I think it looks really cool, and your house generates electricity. And if you combine it with the Tesla Powerwall battery, then you can be self sufficient, so that even if the grid turns off – even if the grid turns off for several days – your house still works. And your roof looks awesome. So it’s like, I recommend anyone who can afford it, get Tesla’s solar roof and Powerwall, your family’s life might depend on it. And just in terms of convenience, your kids are not gonna yell at you cause their computers don’t work and their power went out and they cant charge their phone. Actually happens. You literally cant even call anyone cause your phone’s out of juice.
Despite the answer being a bit rambly, there’s an important portion in there, when Musk says “your family’s life might depend on it.”
This is perhaps a little alarmist, but there is a point to be made in there. Having ready access to energy can be helpful in a bad situation, like for example during increasing natural disasters which Musk himself seems to deny are happening.
So, while Musk is wrong about climate change, he’s right that solar and batteries can increase resiliency of a home – which could, indeed, be lifesaving for that home’s residents in certain circumstances. But it’s still hyperbolic, and self-serving, to leverage these fears in order to sell a “premium” product – one which costs in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars – to fearful family members.
But then we must consider the larger context in which these words were said.
The White House’s occupant opposes solar
Unfortunately for the US, and for Elon Musk’s businesses selling renewable energy products, that three-time candidate finally managed to get more votes than his opponent (while still failing to attain a majority, and despite committing treason in 2021, for which there is a clear legal remedy). And after campaigning against solar, he’s already started attempts to marginalize it as an energy source in his first week squatting in the Oval Office.
On his first day occupying the seat on which traitors do not belong, he signed a memo stating that the US should focus on all forms of energy except wind and solar, the latter of which the company that virtually all of Musk’s wealth comes from sells.
Mr. Trump has also attempted to freeze disbursement of funds related to the Inflation Reduction Act, some of which go to solar projects. The IRA reduces energy costs for Americans and was responsible for a massive boost in American manufacturing, both things which Mr. Trump opposes.
We’re not sure what effect these directives will have, given their questionable legality and the fact that Congress is responsible for government budgets, not former reality TV hosts. But then again, it should be expected that a convicted felon would break the law again, especially if said felon shows no remorse for their illegal actions.
And Mr. Trump has ignorantly promised – inasmuch as the promises of a compulsive liar ever matter – to continue to attack this cheap, clean energy source in his quest to make life worse for Americans. Many estimate there is more nonsense to come, and given past experience with the ignoramus in question, that seems like a good bet.
But we’re talking about Elon Musk here, what does he have to do with all of this?
Elon Musk’s involvement in anti-solar actions
Elon Musk spent much of last year campaigning for Mr. Trump, despite that he made it openly clear that he wants to harm solar, the fastest-growing energy source in the US, which is cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuels. That candidate instead favors dirty, costly fossil fuel energy.
As a thank you for Musk’s massive bribes to Mr. Trump’s campaign, he has been appointed to the Department of Government Efficiency. This is not an actual department, but an advisory panel with no official authority.
It was created to be helmed by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, two of the supposedly most intelligent and capable republican operatives, who nevertheless were both tasked to do a job that would normally accomplished by one person (Ramaswamy has since quit or been forced out, before the job even started). The panel has a redundant mission to the already-existing Government Accountability Office – making it a redundant office to reduce redundancy (no, this is not a Monty Python sketch, this is apparently real life).
So, Musk is an official part of this administration which is making these anti-solar moves.
It’s a change from Musk’s previous statements about solar power. Even as recently as 2022, Musk has decried anti-solar moves, and yet he’s now thrown large chunks of his personal wealth and effort into a group committing several of them.
While Musk and his advisory panel haven’t necessarily been directly associated with these anti-solar actions, the idea of freezing government funds is related to the supposed purview of his department, so it would be reasonable to think that he might have some input into this.
Further, Musk has shown in the past that when an administration does something he objects to, he’s willing to leave an advisory position in protest. He did this in 2017 when Mr. Trump signaled that he wanted to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement, an action which Musk said was “not good for America or the world” and quit an advisory board that he had been on (Trump did the same thing again last week, and Musk didn’t resign his position this time, signaling his newfound spinelessness).
So – the fact that Musk has not pulled out of the administration despite these anti-solar moves, combined with the fact that he has shown disapproval through resignations before, suggests that he at least tacitly accepts these moves to make it harder for you to install solar.
So… Elon Musk says you’ll die without solar, but wants to make it harder for you to get it?
And now we get to the point of this all: if Elon Musk thinks that your family is in mortal peril if it doesn’t install solar panels, but he also seems okay with government making it harder to install solar panels, does that mean he wants you to die too?
Worth a thought, especially for those apparently few investors who are still onboard for Tesla’s mission, rather than just holding onto base hopes that the company might benefit from some unspecified corruption.
Although, given the policies we’ve seen, which will directly harm Tesla’s business, maybe even that latter group might reconsider how the corruption is working out for them.
If you’d like to install home solar from a company that *isn’t* working actively to harm solar adoption in the US, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Credit where credit is due: in a massive, 32-car multinational independent test, Tesla’s Autopilot ADAS came out on top, the new affordable Tesla turns out to be a corner-cutting Model Y, and one of the company’s original founders compares the Cybertruck to a dumpster. All this and more on today’s episode of Quick Charge!
Today’s episode is brought to you by Retrospec – the makers of sleek, powerful e-bikes and outdoor gear built for everyday adventure! To that end, we’ve got a pair of Retrospec e-bike reviews followed up by a super cute, super affordable new EV from China with nearly 150 miles of range for less than $5,000 USD.
PLUS: listeners can get an extra 10% off by using code ELECTREK10 at retrospec.com!
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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Tesla is again teasing the new Roadster, which is now five years late, as “the last driver’s car” before self-driving takes over.
The chicken or the egg. Is Tesla delaying the Roadster to match the development of self-driving technology, or is it delaying the development of self-driving technology to match the delayed release of the Roadster?
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was initially scheduled to enter production in 2020; however, it has been delayed every year since then.
It was supposed to achieve a range of 620 miles (1,000 km) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.
Tesla used the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered; however, the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.
Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was initially scheduled to hit the market five years ago.
When unveiling the vehicle, CEO Elon Musk described it as a “halo car” that would deliver a “smack down” to gasoline vehicles.
That was almost eight years ago, and many electric hypercars have since launched and delivered this smackdown.
Tesla has partly blamed the delays on improving the next-gen Roadsters and added features like the “SpaceX package,” which is supposed to include cold air thrusters to enable the vehicle to fly – Musk has hinted.
Many people don’t believe any of it, as Tesla has said that it would launch the new Roadster every year for the last 5 years and never did.
Now, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, made a rare new comment about the next-generation Roadster during an interview at the X Takeover event, an annual gathering of Elon Musk cultists, last weekend.
He referred to Tesla’s next-gen Roadster as the “last best driver’s car” and said that the automaker did “some cool demos” for Musk last week:
We spent a lot of time in the last few years rethinking what we did, and why we did it, and what would make an awesome and exciting last best driver’s car. We’ve been making it better and better, and it is even a little bit more than a car. We showed Elon some cool demos last week and tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.
The timing matches Musk’s recent claim that Tesla is going to have ‘the most epic demo ever, ’ but we heard that one before.
We suspected that the comment might be about the Tesla Roadster, as the CEO made the exact same comment about Roadster demos in 2019 and 2024. You will not be shocked to hear that these demos never happen.
Electrek’s Take
The “last best driver’s car” before computers are going to drive us everywhere. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if you continue to delay the car. It might literally be the last car ever made that way. How would we ever know?
The truth is that the Roadster was cool when it was unveiled in 2017, but that was a long time ago. Tesla would need to update the car quite a bit to make it cool in 2025, and I don’t know that cold air clusters are it. You will have extreme limitations using those.
The Roadster is almost entirely in the “put up or shut up” category for me at Tesla. They need to stop talking about it and make it happen; otherwise, I can’t believe a word.
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The PV5 is already available in several markets, but will Kia launch it in the US? After Kia’s electric van was spotted testing in the US again, a US debut could be in the works.
Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?
Kia launched the PV5, the first dedicated electric van from its new Platform Beyond vehicle (PBV) business, in South Korea and Europe earlier this year, promising it will roll out in “other global markets” in 2026.
Will that include the US? Earlier this year, Kia’s electric van was caught charging at a station in Indiana. Photos and a video sent to Electrek by Alex Nguyen confirmed it was, in fact, the PV5.
Kia has yet to say if it will sell the PV5 in the US, likely due to the Trump Administration’s new auto tariffs. All electric vans, or PBVs, including the PV5, will be built at Kia’s Hwaseong plant in South Korea, which means they will face a stiff 25% tariff as imports.
Following another sighting, a US debut cannot be ruled out. The PV5 Passenger model was spotted by Automotive Validation Engineer Chris Higa (@Chrisediting) while testing in Arizona.
There’s no denying that’s Kia’s electric van, but it doesn’t necessarily confirm it will launch in the US. But it could make sense.
Despite record first-half sales in the US, Kia’s EV sales have fallen significantly. Sales of the EV9 and EV6 are nearly 50% less than in the first half of 2024.
To be fair, part of it is due to the new model year changeover, but Kia is also doubling down on the US market by boosting local production. Earlier this year, Kia said the EV6 and EV9 are now in full-scale production at its West Point, GA, facility.
The PV5 Passenger (shown above) is available in Europe with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, rated with WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant has the same battery options but offers a WLTP range of either 181 miles or 247 miles.
During its PV5 Tech Day event last week, Kia revealed plans for seven PV5 body types, including an Open Bed (similar to a pickup), a Light Camper, and even a luxury “Prime” passenger model.
Kia is set to begin deliveries of the PV5 Passenger and Cargo Long variants in South Korea next month, followed by Europe and other global markets, starting in Q4 2025. As for a US launch, we will have to wait for the official word from Kia.
Do you want Kia to bring its electric van to the US? Drop us a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Source: Chris Higa, TheKoreanCarBlog
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