Do you think all cars will be electric?
Absolutely. In 30 years, a majority of all new cars produced in the United States, perhaps worldwide, will be electric. And I don't mean hybrid. I mean pure electric.
When you plug into an outlet, you're in effect plugging into coal, because a lot of the electricity produced in the United States is coal-fired. Does that bother you from a global-warming perspective?
I'm very familiar with the "long tailpipe" criticism. I have another company, SolarCity, which is the largest provider of solar power to homes and businesses in California. The solution is to get a SolarCity solar panel on your roof and then have an electric car. It takes actually only a small solar-panel setup—of about 10 by 15 feet—to generate 200 to 400 miles a week of electricity for your car.
A lot of people say solar is really only viable because of massive government subsidies.
That's a very simplistic statement. Solar is viable in certain parts of the country—depending on the local cost of electricity—without subsidies. Subsidies make it economically viable in more places than it would otherwise be. Like almost any industry, there are huge economies of scale. As solar gets bigger and bigger, it gets increasingly economically viable.
If you had a magic wand, what change would you make in America's energy policy?
I would certainly shift any subsidies on hydrocarbons to renewable energy. It's ludicrous to be subsidizing oil and coal and other things that clearly don't have a long-term future and bring great damage to the environment.
Would you like to see a carbon cap-and-trade system in the United States?
I'm actually a bigger fan of a carbon tax, just because it's a simpler thing to do than cap-and-trade.
What you're describing is a pretty optimistic future. You believe that American industry can successfully refashion the transportation sector to run on renewable energy?
I am actually fairly optimistic that we will solve this problem. But there's an important caveat there, which is, we cannot be complacent and just assume it will happen. There needs to be strong government action. There needs to be private investment; there need to be entrepreneurs that attack this problem. We will solve this problem—but only if we do all that.
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Fareed, you can throw away your car a get the solar powered one, not me. Come on let us face the facts that there are so many set backs in the solar powered car and it is just a play thing. It is obviously expensive,not practical and not reliable when you really need it.
I think Mr Musk has hit the nail on the head. I have just purchased a Prius, which I love at 50+ miles per gallon, but I am sure that in 10 years people will be saying the same thing concerning electric vehicles. It is no longer a matter of choice; we will be foreced into it. John L.
The electric car has been demonstrated to be practical for short commute in California. It is time to bring them back to production soon. A plug in hybrid is also desirable, the only disadvantage is that with the additional batteries, the car will be heavier than the current hybrid and the gas mile may not be as high as the current hybrid. The problem seems to bolt down to the development of light weight batteries to store electricity, which may not be easy.
Are you worried about the future of energy? Here's your chance to quiz the best minds in science, industry and politics. Click here and submit your question by Tuesday, August 5. If it's selected, NEWSWEEK's Fareed Zakaria will use it during his interview with green architect William McDonough, who has a radical approach to constructing new buildings and refashioning old ones while putting the environment first.
7/10/08: NEWSWEEK business and technology editors met with Texas oil magnate T. Boone Pickens to discuss his plan for fighting America's dependency on foreign oil. (Video: Jessica Bloustein, Imani Cheers)
MEDIA Just a year after buying The Wall Street Journal, the press rapscallion has revitalized the fusty paper.
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