Energy industry innovator Elon Musk, who leads the electric vehicle market in building 500,000 electronic vehicles this year and is leading the push toward Mars, is making legions of fans—and some foes too, it seems. His most recent detractor: Robert Murray, coal baron and a non-believer of climate change.
In an interview with CNBC, the Murray Energy Corp CEO scathingly commented, “Tesla is a fraud. He’s gotten $2 billion from the taxpayer, has not made a penny yet in cash flow, here again it’s subsidies.”
Murray claimed that “Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, the Pritzkers” and other wealthy Americans were eyed by Hilary Clinton for government subsidy grants because of their friendship, having “nothing to do with supporting the environment”.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO, in a tweet, retorted that the shame was in Murray's disbelief in climate science, and even left him with a challenge.
Real fraud going on is denial of climate science. As for "subsidies", Tesla gets pennies on dollar vs coal. How about we both go to zero?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 10, 2016
Musk has been lobbying for "revenue-neutral" carbon tax, saying it will drive clean power while the government takes no profit from it.
Earlier this year, news sites claim that Tesla Motors Inc., SolarCity Corp., and SpaceX have benefited from an estimated $4.9 billion in government support. Musk dismissed the claims as misleading propaganda from the fossil fuel industry and appealed for a people's revolt against it, saying, "People have to revolt against the propaganda of the fossil fuel industry which is unrelenting and enormous."
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