Elon Musk & Climate Change: His Role in the Global Clean Energy Race

Elon Musk is often portrayed as a climate-change crusader, but his record is complex. The CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures has championed electric vehicles, solar power, and batteries in pursuit of a “clean energy” future. He famously quit a White House advisory council in 2017 when President Trump withdrew from the Paris climate accord, tweeting “climate change is real” and condemning the pullout.

Tesla’s mission from the start, Musk says, has been “to accelerate the world’s transition to clean energy”. For years, he rode high as an icon of clean tech. His companies even gave millions a vivid example of a low-carbon economy.

However, in recent years, his priorities and politics have shifted in ways that confuse climate advocates. On one hand, he continues pushing electric cars, batteries, and solar technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, he’s allied with skeptical politicians and toned down his rhetoric on climate urgency. Elon Musk’s impact on clean energy remains a subject of debate, balancing groundbreaking innovations with controversial alliances and statements.

Tesla’s EVs and emission reductions

Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) are Musk’s flagship contribution to cutting carbon emissions. By replacing gasoline cars with EVs, Tesla has helped avoid tailpipe CO₂. The company claims its vehicles saved about 20 million metric tons of CO₂-equivalent in 2023. Independent analysts suggest the true avoided emissions may be closer to 10-14 million tons, but either way, it represents a significant reduction.

For context, every Tesla sold eliminates about a ton of CO₂ per year compared to the average gasoline car. Tesla was by far the largest EV maker in the US during this period, at one point accounting for nearly 50% of all American EV sales. In effect, Musk’s EV strategy has forced the entire auto industry to shift away from internal-combustion engines. Now, almost all legacy automakers sell electric models in response to Tesla’s success.

Tesla’s EVs also interplay with policy. The company benefits from and uses government carbon- and efficiency-based incentives. For example, it earned a record $2.8 billion in 2024 by selling “regulatory” carbon credits to other automakers. These credits are generated because Tesla’s EVs exceed fuel economy and emissions standards. Selling the excess to rivals effectively funds its bottom line.

Furthermore, U.S. buyers of Tesla cars often claim a $7,500 federal EV tax credit, and Tesla’s solar products use renewable energy tax breaks. One analysis notes that phasing out those incentives abruptly could cost Tesla about $1.2 billion. In short, Tesla’s electric vehicles have been a powerful climate tool. Many experts hail it as “a leader in the fight against climate change” due to its low-emission fleet. However, the company also generates profit by using climate-related policies.

Beyond direct emissions, Tesla has signaled that battery-pack production will be central to Musk’s clean-energy strategy. In 2023, Tesla deployed 14.7 GWh of stationary batteries for homes and utilities. This is more than double its 2022 volume. Musk says Tesla could soon be shipping 100 GWh per year of storage, which would be one of the largest battery rates ever, because “if you’re not at the terawatt scale, you’re not really moving the needle” on climate.

In other words, Tesla’s EVs and batteries together form a plan to reduce the carbon footprint of both transportation and electricity. This gives Musk a strong claim to be a climate pioneer. He sells both zero-tailpipe vehicles and builds the storage needed to power them cleanly.

SolarCity and energy storage projects

Musk’s clean-energy empire goes beyond cars. In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity. It’s a residential solar installer he helped start, folding it into a broader Tesla Energy business. At the time, SolarCity was the nation’s largest home-solar installer, and Tesla touted the merger as a way to combine EVs, solar, and batteries under one roof.

Tesla now sells rooftop solar panels and the solar-roof tiles that he often mentions. In practice, however, the solar side has struggled. By late 2023, its quarterly solar installations were at multi-year lows, for example, just 41 MW in Q4 2023, as the company cut back on solar sales and installations. Industry reports attribute this to technical delays and reduced sales incentives for solar.

By contrast, Tesla’s energy storage business is booming. The company sells home batteries and utility-scale batteries that can store solar energy or smooth the grid. As noted above, Tesla installed 14.7 GWh of energy storage systems in 2023. CEO Musk calls stationary storage a gigantic opportunity and growing like wildfire. He plans to build new battery factories capable of producing terawatt-hours of energy each year. In fact, Tesla’s battery shipments already topped global rankings. It led the world in deployed energy storage for 2023.

This shift in focus suggests Musk sees batteries as essential to a clean energy grid. Tesla is rapidly ramping up a 40 GWh/year Gigafactory in California, plus new plants in Texas and Germany to supply more Powerwalls and Megapacks. In his words, to run a future with near-100% renewables, “you have to, if you’re not at the terawatt scale… you’re not really moving the needle”.

In practice, these batteries are being used in many large projects. For example, Australia’s big Hornsdale Power Reserve (built by Tesla) saved the grid in 2019. As such, it led to more orders, and Texas grids are also contracting for battery plants. Musk has suggested that if utilities deploy enough Tesla batteries, it could eliminate the need for some coal/gas peaker plants.

SpaceX & environmental concerns

SpaceX’s massive Starship launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, which is situated near a sensitive wildlife refuge, has drawn intense environmental scrutiny. Although his company focuses on space exploration rather than Earth’s ecology, its activities intersect with environmental regulation. Conservationists warn that Starship test launches have caused ecological harm. For instance, a 2022 explosion scorched 68 acres of marshland, while debris and noise have disrupted habitats of endangered species like ocelots and sea turtles.

Regulators have also intervened. In 2023, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration delayed hearings after finding SpaceX violated water-permit rules, and Texas officials cited the company for pollution breaches. Indigenous groups have sued to halt expansion onto what they describe as sacred land, accusing SpaceX of ongoing contamination.

On a broader level, scientists note that rocket launches emit greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. But they also recognize that their global climate impact remains small compared to industrial sources. SpaceX’s methane-fueled Starship burns cleaner than traditional kerosene rockets but still releases substantial carbon.

Musk, however, downplays such concerns. He emphasizes Starship’s long-term goal, which is making humanity a multi-planetary species. For now, SpaceX’s most pressing environmental challenges remain local rather than planetary.

Musk’s stance on government subsidies

Elon Musk’s views on government subsidies are complex and often contradictory. Publicly, he denounces subsidies as market distortions, arguing that Tesla would thrive even without EV tax credits. In 2024, he wrote that removing them would “help Tesla,” suggesting rivals depend more on such incentives. Yet, he also criticizes the massive “hidden” subsidies for fossil fuels, calling for a fair, revenue-neutral carbon tax instead.

In practice, Tesla has benefited from public incentives. Its customers use the $7,500 federal EV credit, and its solar products rely on rebates. The company also earned $2.8 billion in 2024 from selling carbon credits and has gained nearly $20 billion overall. Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to secure major government contracts, including $3.8 billion from NASA in 2024, which Musk defends as fair competition, even while criticizing subsidies elsewhere.

Policy influence in the U.S. and abroad

Musk’s influence on climate policy comes less from traditional lobbying and more from bold tweets, high-profile meetings, and market power. In the U.S., he has had direct access to leaders: for a time, he sat on a Trump business advisory council. He also visited the White House several times in 2021-22 to discuss electric cars and infrastructure. However, after Democrats took power, his relationship with Washington cooled.

He was reportedly not invited to a Biden EV summit in 2021, which some speculate soured him on the administration. By 2024, he had shifted toward the Republican side, publicly criticizing parts of the Biden climate agenda and later lending major support to the Trump 2024 campaign. These actions signal his hand in shaping, or at least responding to, U.S. climate policy debates.

Internationally, he wields clout through Tesla’s global footprint. In China, Tesla’s vast Gigafactory was built with Beijing’s blessing, and its strong support of Chinese EV policies is seen as a tacit endorsement of that country’s green transition. In Europe, Tesla’s presence factors into EU carbon rules. Influencemap, a climate-advocacy research group, recently scored Tesla as the leading automaker in global climate lobbying.

In 2023-24, Tesla submitted comments supporting tougher vehicle-emission standards in places like Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, and the UK. That is unusual: many auto-makers and trade associations actually fight such rules. Musk’s company, by contrast, has publicly lobbied for stronger GHG targets and zero-emissions mandates, leveraging its EV specialization.

Praise from climate activists

Many climate advocates applaud the clean technology Musk has championed. Tesla’s success alone is often seen as a breakthrough: by proving electric cars can be high-performance and desirable, he has arguably done more to curb auto emissions than any individual or country in the last decade. InfluenceMap notes that Tesla “has established itself as a leader in the fight against climate change” and gave it top marks for climate policy engagement in 2024.

In the clean energy sector, projects like Tesla’s Hornsdale battery in Australia have won praise for helping integrate renewables. The $100 million XPrize for carbon removal, funded by Musk in 2021, was hailed by tech advocates as a major incentive to accelerate carbon-capture research.

Individual climate scientists and experts sometimes single Musk out. While some criticize his political turns, others credit him with pushing entire industries toward decarbonization. For example, when legacy automakers invest billions in EV factories, many note that Musk’s hand was a key catalyst. Progressive voices have pointed out that without Tesla, EV adoption would be far slower.

Criticism from environmental groups

Despite his clean-energy achievements, Elon Musk’s environmental impact still faces mounting criticism from environmental groups. Regulators have cited Tesla’s Fremont factory for over 110 air-quality violations since 2019, which is more than any other Bay Area plant. That’s after repeated illegal emissions from its paint shops. These incidents clash with his claim that Tesla has “done more to help the environment than all other companies combined.” SpaceX has also faced penalties: in 2024, the FAA and Texas environmental authorities fined the company for discharging pollutants into protected wetlands.

Critics further accuse him of softening his stance on climate change. In early 2025, he said global warming is “real, just much slower than alarmists claim,” and urged people not to “demonize” oil and gas, angering activists who demand urgent fossil fuel cuts. His political alignments with right-wing figures have deepened skepticism among environmentalists, some of whom now call him an “opportunist.”

Musk’s vision of a sustainable energy future

Musk envisions a sustainable future powered entirely by clean energy. His EV company reflects similar sentiments: “a world powered by solar energy, running on batteries, and transported by all-electric vehicles.” Musk believes sunlight and energy storage could meet nearly all human needs, even in remote regions. At a Paris summit, he likened the shift to how nations skipped landlines for mobile phones, arguing that solar panels and Tesla Powerwalls could let villages bypass fossil fuels altogether. He also advocates for a global, revenue-neutral carbon tax to accelerate the transition.

In his blueprint, every home generates solar power, every car is electric, and grid batteries replace fossil-fuel plants. Tesla’s Superchargers, Powerwalls, and the $100M XPrize for carbon removal all fit into this vision. He even explores futuristic ideas like orbital solar arrays beaming power to Earth, emphasizing that sustainable abundance through technology is essential before humanity reaches Mars.

Conclusion: Catalyst or disruptor?

Elon Musk has played a catalytic yet disruptive role in the clean energy transition. Through Tesla, he has made electric vehicles mainstream and has outsold all other U.S. EV makers combined. Not to mention, he has advanced large-scale battery storage via Tesla Energy. Elon Musk’s environmental impact is evident in how his companies have pushed clean energy technologies into the global spotlight, influencing both consumers and competitors. These innovations have undeniably accelerated the shift away from fossil fuels. Yet his outspoken politics and unpredictable stance on climate policy often divide opinion.

His criticisms of EV subsidies and mainstream climate messaging appeal to anti-regulation groups, raising concerns that his influence could hinder coordinated climate action. Analysts argue that he embodies both hero and disruptor. He is a visionary who made clean technology aspirational, but also a maverick whose rhetoric sometimes undermines collective climate goals.

Whether viewed as a green-tech savior or a self-interested provocateur, his impact is undeniable. He has reshaped energy markets and climate politics alike. As such, he leaves the ultimate verdict to the real-world outcomes of the transition he helped ignite.