Why Elon Musk Won't Save Us

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at why Elon Musk won't save us from climate change. Specifically, I look at how Elon Musk's companies like Tesla and SpaceX adhere to a. philosophy of ecomodernism that employs ideologies of techno-optimism and decoupling to tackling the problems of the climate crisis. Elon Musk won't save us because companies like Tesla are exploiting workers in Tesla factories, as well as utilizing capitalist, colonialist methods of extraction that rely on child labor in cobalt and lithium mines. Elon Musk's future is one where the ruling class enjoys the luxuries of his companies like the Tesla Cybertruck or the Las Vegas Loop System, or even a martian space colony, all at the expense of laborers and the working class. Elon Musk shows that ecomodernism is an untenable solution to the climate crisis and climate change. Not only does decoupling not work, but futuristic technologies have very tangible consequences for people and for the planet.

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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - Elon Musk Has Always Been Rich
2:51 - Elon Musk Didn't Create Tesla
4:34 - The Cost of Muskian "Progress"
6:58 - Muskian Eco-Imperialism
8:54 - A Muskian Future for the Few, Climate Chaos for the Many
11:29 - Sponsored Message
13:35 - Outro

Select images courtesy of Getty Images
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#ElonMusk #Tesla #SpaceX

[OurChangingClimate]

💡 How do you feel about Elon Musk?
👍 Consider commenting and liking the video!!! It really helps this video beat the pesky algorithm!

[NaumRusomarov]

Rich people won’t save us. They live in a completely different world than us.

[krynetik]

Normal people who worship these billionaire ghouls remind me of that scene in Futurama.
Fry: "That'll show those poors!"
Leela: "Why are you cheering, Fry? You're not rich."
Fry: "True, but someday I might be rich. And then people like me better watch their step."

[pythonjava]

It's incredibly disturbing that safety standards we're ignored because Elon didn't like yellow. He's literally putting people at risk because he doesn't like a colour!

[Obrik]

"And every day I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners.
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay."
This is so frustrating.

Edit: When I wrote this, I only knew Elon as the Tesla guy and someone who might help fight climate change. Now I know he's a child with lots of money /-

[Blake.Spider]

People who call elon musk iron man forget that iron man is a war profiteer

[adityas.]

Elon is the man who calls trans pronouns aesthetic nightmares and then proceeds to name his son the letters he read on a re-captcha

[nympheasen]

Elon Musk's distaste for the color yellow leading to "fewer safety lines and signs" made me lose brain cells. The idiocy is beyond this universe

[pretty]

So many people idolise Elon and genuinely think he's gonna "save" us. Great work mate !

[bronsonramoutar]

This guy unironically proposed indentured servitude on Mars...

[viniciusgomes]

Fantasy: Going to space and terraforming mars
Reality: Melting on this burning planet

[diegoevrard-broquet]

You could also have pinpointed that electric cars are not a solution when they are focusing on power/speed instead of focusing on decreasing energy consumption (like low-tech cars) ; You could say the same for the hyperloop ;
Sorry if you did mention that in previous videos, in which case it is also nice to mention it with a link to the previous video so that it creates a sense of holistic reflection instead of isolated videos,
Thank you for your great work :) Best

[rosa]

But muh smaller tunnels with rgb lighting!

[jupitired]

he has such a cult following it's so sad

[ThePrinceHerb]

Imagine trusting billionaires😂 we’re lint in their pockets, we’re ants to them…as they should be to us❤️

[choux]

Elon Musk to me, just seems like a hull of a human who's devoid of any real feelings, let alone empathy for others. I don't know why normal people look to him for answers when he's not looking to help US out.

[arinaira]

Because elon is an aesthetic of science.... Not the real thing... He's a fake Futurist

[smallstudiodesign]

Meanwhile… it gives me solace to know how these self-proclaimed “self-made billionaire entrepreneurs” are, more often, not.
Otherwise I feel bad that I haven’t tried hard enough.

[sgtpastry]

I'd just like to point out that Musk didn't invent PayPal, but service similar to it. If my understanding is correct, his company bought out PayPal, then he installed himself as CEO for a while.

[rajgandhi]

Video correction: the building you pointed to is not the University of Pennsylvania, its The Pennsylvania State University