Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s controversial climate remarks during his interview with former President Donald Trump prompted a backlash from fellow billionaire Vinod Khosla on X.
Quote from an article from the GuardianKhosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, mocked Musk, saying his climate talk with Trump was “actually soooo stupid that you shouldn’t just call it stupid.”
Musk responded to Khosla’s post with an insult to the Guardian and asked if Khosla had actually listened to the interview.
“The stupidest climate talk of all time”: Experts on the Musk-Trump interview. Actually soooo stupid that you shouldn’t just call it stupid. https://t.co/YUn04KEyV6
— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) 14 August 2024
Khosla responded that the conversation was “stupid.” He assumed that Trump was not very knowledgeable about climate science, but that Musk was avoiding his responsibility with his words on climate change.
“I don’t expect @realDonaldTrump to know the nuances of various CO2 ppm levels and their consequences, and his reaching out to the person who has arguably done more for climate than anyone else is quite reasonable. You had a responsibility that I think you largely failed to meet by downplaying reality,” he wrote.
Khosla, who has invested in DoorDash and Affirm, was referring to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, measured in parts per million. Atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are critical to environmental science and impact the climate. Khosla confirmed that he did indeed hear Musk’s comments in the interview. “I listened to the climate part and yes, I think it’s really stupid,” he wrote.
Khosla, through his venture capital firm, is a major investor in cleantech companies in the transportation, energy and manufacturing sectors.
During the two-hour live interview on X Monday, the electric vehicle maker’s CEO downplayed the impact of climate change, saying the worst that increased carbon dioxide levels could do is make it harder to breathe at a certain point.
“There is some risk. I think the risk is not as high as many people say in terms of global warming. But I think if you raise the ppm in the atmosphere long enough, at some point it just becomes uncomfortable to breathe,” Musk said in the interview.
When the atmosphere reaches 1,000 ppm of carbon dioxide, more than double today’s concentration, people can experience “headaches and nausea,” Musk said. Although this level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can lead to these effects, climate scientists and activists warn that much lower levels of CO2 could have devastating effects on the environment. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, carbon dioxide levels of 800 ppm or more have not been seen on Earth in 50 million years. Environmental stress from levels above 1,000 ppm could lead to melting polar ice caps, flooding, ocean acidification and possible loss of biodiversity.
Musk also called on the US economy to move away from oil and gas and “over time” to a sustainable energy economy, as fossil fuels are not infinitely available.
“I don’t think we should demonize the oil and gas industry,” Musk told Trump. “If we stopped using oil and gas now, we would all starve and the economy would collapse.”
Musk added that an energy transition is necessary, but contrary to the opinion of climate experts, there is still a long time before an imminent climate catastrophe threatens.
“It’s not like the house is going to burn right away, but I think it’s something we need to work toward,” he said.
In April, the United Nations climate chief said government and business leaders had two years to take action to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
