A quick glance at Elon Musk’s Twitter will show his interest in memes. Musk even went as far as claiming he has a “meme dealer“. In light of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Musk has been on the front row in offering a helping hand and showing support to the people of Ukraine. The Starlink boss also happens to be one of the most influential profiles advocating for the adoption of renewable sources of energy. In fact, this could be deemed to be the proximate motive behind why his EV and renewable energy-centric company, Tesla, took to Twitter to tell the world how oil and gas output needed to increase immediately. “Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately,” Musk said in a tweet. Of course, this sounds counterintuitive based on who he is in the eyes of the public. On the flip side, many can agree that “extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” as Musk puts it.

 

Musk didn’t show any demur from overtly pointing out how this move could negatively affect his company, Tesla. “Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports,” Musk added to his previous tweet.

 

While this might spark altercation among online huddles and communities, or even offline discussions among people, it’s imperative to note that Musk himself has never been against the idea of using natural gas and other forms of fossil fuel. “I’m not in favor of demonizing the oil and gas industry,” Musk said in an interview with Joe Rogan on February 2021. After all, Musk’s jets still need some fossil fuel to get off the ground. 

 

The public has not taken this lightly. Think of how fossil fuels are used in nearly every industry in the world, despite the advent of powerful technologies and efforts put forth by some of the elite profiles including Musk and Bill Gates (through his company Breakthrough Energy). In fact, a report published by Ren21, a sustainable energy think tank, shows that fossil fuels still have over 80% share compared to other forms of energy, something that’s been nearly constant for the last decade. From such numbers, it’s easy to see why sustainable energy cannot react instantaneously to the prevailing atmosphere. 

 

Looking at this from another angle shows that Musk isn’t trying to be a profiteer by supporting the suppression of natural gas and other fossil fuels. It clearly shows his deep concern for the current environment