{"id":80048,"date":"2025-01-29T21:08:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T02:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=80048"},"modified":"2025-01-29T21:08:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T02:08:01","slug":"youll-die-without-a-solar-roof-says-musk-whose-admin-made-it-harder-to-get-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=80048","title":{"rendered":"You’ll die without a solar roof says Musk, whose admin made it harder to get solar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\"Elon<\/figure>\n

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that \u201cyour family\u2019s life might depend on\u201d having solar, despite that he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tesla hosted its Q4 and full year 2024 earnings call today<\/a>, missing expectations on revenue and earnings. The company had its\u00a0first down sales year\u00a0<\/a>since 2011, despite a\u00a0rising EV market<\/a>. The market initially responded poorly to the numbers, but recovered as\u00a0Tesla guided a return to growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, and hasn\u2019t particularly lived up to the hyped expectations of the time (especially due to some, uh, hiccups along the way<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Tesla\u2019s 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 \u201cpremium\u201d product (in contrast to original promises that it would cost less than a regular roof<\/a>). But Tesla isn\u2019t installing the roof itself<\/a>, it says it would rather produce units to send to the roofing industry.<\/p>\n

Then, CEO Elon Musk went into a soliloquy about the benefits of having home solar, which are true if perhaps a little overstated:<\/p>\n

\n

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 \u2013\u00a0even if the grid turns off for several days \u2013 your house still works. And your roof looks awesome. So it\u2019s like, I recommend anyone who can afford it, get Tesla\u2019s solar roof and Powerwall, your family\u2019s life might depend on it. And just in terms of convenience, your kids are not gonna yell at you cause their computers don\u2019t work and their power went out and they cant charge their phone. Actually happens. You literally cant even call anyone cause your phone\u2019s out of juice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Despite the answer being a bit rambly, there\u2019s an important portion in there, when Musk says \u201cyour family\u2019s life might depend on it<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a> which Musk himself seems to deny are happening<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, while Musk is wrong about climate change<\/a>, he\u2019s right that solar and batteries can increase resiliency of a home \u2013 which could, indeed, be lifesaving for that home\u2019s residents in certain circumstances. But it\u2019s still hyperbolic, and self-serving, to leverage these fears in order to sell a \u201cpremium\u201d product \u2013\u00a0one which costs in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars \u2013 to fearful family members.<\/p>\n

But then we must consider the larger context in which these words were said.<\/p>\n

The White House\u2019s occupant opposes solar<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately for the US, and for Elon Musk\u2019s 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\u00a0a clear legal remedy<\/a>). And after campaigning against solar, he\u2019s already started attempts to marginalize it as an energy source in his first week squatting in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

On his first day occupying the seat on which traitors do not belong, he signed a memo<\/a> stating that the US should focus on all forms of energy except<\/em> wind and solar, the latter of which the company that virtually all of Musk\u2019s wealth comes from sells.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump has also attempted to freeze disbursement of funds<\/a> 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<\/a>, both things which Mr. Trump opposes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not sure what effect these directives will have, given their questionable legality <\/a>and the fact that Congress is responsible for government budgets, not former reality TV<\/a> hosts. But then again, it should be expected that a convicted felon<\/a> would break the law again, especially if said felon shows no remorse<\/a> for their illegal actions.<\/p>\n

And Mr. Trump has ignorantly promised \u2013\u00a0inasmuch as the promises of a compulsive liar ever matter \u2013\u00a0to continue to attack <\/a>this cheap, clean energy source in his quest to make life worse for Americans. Many estimate there is more nonsense to come<\/a>, and given past experience with the ignoramus<\/a> in question, that seems like a good bet.<\/p>\n

But we\u2019re talking about Elon Musk here, what does he have to do with all of this?<\/p>\n

Elon Musk\u2019s involvement in anti-solar actions<\/h2>\n

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<\/a>, which is cheaper<\/a> and cleaner<\/a> than fossil fuels. That candidate instead favors dirty, costly fossil fuel energy.<\/p>\n

As a thank you for Musk\u2019s\u00a0massive bribes<\/a>\u00a0to Mr. Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0forced out<\/a>,\u00a0before the job even started<\/a>). The panel has a redundant mission to the already-existing Government Accountability Office \u2013\u00a0making it a redundant office to reduce redundancy (no, this is not a Monty Python sketch, this is apparently real life).<\/p>\n

So, Musk is an official part of this administration which is making these anti-solar moves.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a change from Musk\u2019s previous statements about solar power. Even as recently as 2022, Musk has decried anti-solar moves<\/a>, and yet he\u2019s now thrown large chunks of his personal wealth and effort into a group committing several of them.<\/p>\n

While Musk and his advisory panel haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Further, Musk has shown in the past that when an administration does something he objects to, he\u2019s 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 \u201cnot good for America or the world\u201d and quit an advisory board that he had been on (Trump did the same thing again last week<\/a>, and Musk didn\u2019t resign his position this time, signaling his newfound spinelessness).<\/p>\n

So \u2013 the fact that Musk has not<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

So\u2026 Elon Musk says you\u2019ll die without solar, but wants to make it harder for you to get it?<\/h2>\n

And now we get to the point of this all: if Elon Musk thinks that your family is in mortal peril if it doesn\u2019t install solar panels, but he also<\/em> seems okay with government making it harder to install solar panels, does that mean he wants you to die too?<\/p>\n

Worth a thought,\u00a0especially for those apparently few<\/a> investors who are still onboard for Tesla\u2019s mission<\/a>, rather than just holding onto base hopes that the company might benefit from some unspecified corruption<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although, given the policies we\u2019ve seen, which will directly<\/a> harm<\/a> Tesla\u2019s business, maybe even that latter group might reconsider how the corruption is working out for them.<\/p>\n

\n

If you\u2019d like to install home solar from a company that *isn\u2019t* working actively to harm solar adoption in the US, \u00a0it\u2019s 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>, 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\u2019s free to use, and you won\u2019t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.<\/em> More.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that \u201cyour family\u2019s life might depend on\u201d having solar, despite that he\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-cars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}