God created Elon Musk to be a supervillain but forgot to flip the last switch.

I like Musk I have to say. I admire his energy and his audacity, to the degree of how does have that level of brass neck going on.

I'd agree with others when they say his businesses are a bit of a joke. And one mostly on the American taxpayer and investors. I have a lot of time for Space-X as it is working as promised most of the time and in an area that's bloody hard to get to work at all. Spaceflight isn't for the weak.

His car company? Total white elephant in my humble. He most certainly has raised the profile of leccy cars and that will be his rightful legacy, but I would question the intelligence of anyone investing in his car company. His truck is a complete nonstarter and simply can't work. His cars are good, if expensive but he hasn't a snowball's hope in hell of meeting production figures he needs to meet. TBH I'm surprised he hasn't sold out or gone into partnership with one of the existing car companies, whose production capacities make his look like a bloke assembling a kit car in his garage. Ford produce more cars in a single month than Tesla has, ever.

Of his other ideas. None of them are his. The idea of the "hyper loop" was around in the 19th century. Most of his other schemes are just as nebulous. His battery production plant is where he seems to be putting his future in. Figuring that making the cars is one thing, but making the fuel is the more sustainable and profitable way to go.

His fans can be batshit crazy though. Slightly criticise him on say youtube and they will show up in swarms like quasi-religious nutters who just have to believe.

As for leccy cars? They have a lot of potential but in only one area. Their "fuel" has the potential to be fully "green". Their production environmental hit is higher than fossil fuelled cars. Well they have another potential major advantage; the electric motor that propels them can potentially last for many decades(though this is offset by the fact their batteries won't). And we're back to the elephant in the room, the consumer production cycle. If that remains at the average five years per car model and scrapped at ten, then one of the biggest impacts on the environment, building the cars in the first place, won't change. If anything it could get worse.

Shenshen wrote: »

You are aware that you pay far LESS tax on an EV compared to an ICE, do you?

You are aware that's currently and for obvious reasons; as a carrot to get more on the road for "green" purposes. If you think governments will keep that in play and lose billions worldwide in fuel and motor taxes, or that electricity prices to charge them will stay low, that's pretty naive.

Twenty Grand wrote: »

You still have all same "environmental" impacts.

I'd say more. You have the extra environmental hits of pure battery cars with the hits of petrol cars on top. You're doubling up. If anything hybrids are more polluting than either.