Tesla’s Main Problem. Which is OUR problem.

While I’m certainly happy for Tesla’s successes to this point, I’m very concerned with the company’s direction. Below, I will illustrate the cause for this concern.

Approximately eight months ago, the IPCC report made it abundantly clear what we must do to limit global warming to 1.5°C. [For the purposes of this discussion, and to avoid getting sidetracked, I will not engage the debate about whether or not global warming is occurring. Further, I will reject any responses to this post having to do with denialism. There are other places for it.]

“… limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050. This means that any remaining emissions would need to be balanced by removing CO2 from the air.” [IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, 10/8/18.]

It seems apparent that Tesla is either not paying attention, or is unclear as to what a reduction of 45% of emissions levels actually looks like. Which is not to say that principals of the company do not understand the seriousness of the task, just that practically speaking, the company is not positioning itself in a fashion which indicates as much.