He said the Model S aspires to be the first mass-produced highway-capable electric car, historic if they fulfill that.
"this will be the first mass-produced highway capable electric car"
What's your vision for energy abundance?
Q53153 answers2009-2026
Short answer
While talking about the future being decided by AI, robots, and rockets, he said civilization will need more energy, primarily solar, and that he is increasing solar dramatically: putting together 200 gigawatts a year of solar production capacity in the US, which he thinks is much more than currently exists.
All 153 answers, oldest to newest
2009 · 4 answers
Tesla's point is to accelerate the electric-car revolution through cars it produces and cars it helps other companies produce, including Daimler.
"the overarching uh point of Tesla is to accelerate the electric car Revolution"
He said even on 100% coal power, the Roadster produces less CO2 per mile than a Prius.
"even if 100% of the electricity comes from coal, the Tesla Roadster, which is a sports car, produces less CO2 per mile than a Toyota Prius."
The purpose of putting time and money into Tesla is to serve as a catalyst for accelerating the electric car revolution, because the pump price of gas does not reflect its true cost.
"a catalyst for accelerating the electric car revolution"
2013 · 9 answers
He is extremely confident solar will be at least a plurality of power, most likely a majority, and he predicts a plurality in less than 20 years.
"I'm extremely confident that solar will be at least a plurality of power"
As far as Earth is concerned, the biggest problem humanity faces is sustainable energy. If we do not solve that this century, independent of environmental concerns, we will face economic collapse.
"the biggest problem that humanity faces is one of sustainable energy"
Tesla's impact would be advancing sustainable transport by about a decade, maybe two; electric cars are inevitable, with rockets the ironic exception.
"the Tesla Advanced the Advent of sustainable transport by something like a decade"
He ultimately thinks we will generate more energy from solar than from any other source; the planet is already almost entirely solar-powered, a frozen ice ball at 3 Kelvin without the sun.
"we will generate uh more energy from solar power than from any other source"
Tesla was not started as the best return; it was to show a compelling long-range electric car is possible and that people would buy it.
"the reason for for Tesla was to uh show that it actually is possible to create a compelling electric car"
He said the most important thing is the transition of transportation to electric.
"The most important thing that needs to happen is the transition of transportation to electric."
He said sustainable energy production and consumption is the most important terrestrial problem of the 21st century.
"I think sustainable production, consumption of energy is the most important terrestrial problem that we face in the 21st century."
He originally came to Stanford to work on advanced energy storage technologies, then shifted toward the internet after reading about internet software.
"why I originally came to Stanford was to work on advanced energy storage"
He said solar will be the single largest producer of energy in the UK long term, even with clouds.
"mark my words solar will be the single largest producer of energy in the UK long term"
2014 · 6 answers
The message is you can drive for free forever on pure sunlight — even if the grid breaks down in a zombie apocalypse, you can still charge.
"you can drive for free forever on pure sunlight"
SolarCity is about sustainable energy creation; Tesla is about sustainable energy consumption.
"SolarCity is about sustainable energy creation, whereas Tesla is about sustainable energy consumption"
The biggest impact Tesla will have is not the cars they make themselves, but showing that you can make compelling electric cars that people really want to buy.
"the biggest impact that Tesla will have is not the cars that we make ourselves, but the fact that we show that you can make compelling electric cars that people really want to buy"
He said he has no fundamental dislike of hydrocarbons, but a non-renewable resource will not work long-term.
"I don't have any fundamental dislike of, of hydrocarbons."
There are 100 million new cars a year and 2 billion gasoline or diesel cars on the road. You do not just need one gigafactory; you need like 200 gigafactories just for new-car production.
"you need like 200 gigafactories just for new car production"
He loves the idea. Everything will go electric — everything will go fully electric, except for rockets.
"everything will go fully electric, except for rockets with ironic"
2015 · 9 answers
All transport except rockets will go fully electric; fracking may increase accessible oil and gas about tenfold, so scarcity cannot be counted on to force the switch.
"all transport with the ironic exception of rockets will go fully electric"
He said it is about a fundamental transformation of how energy is delivered across Earth.
"So what I'm going to talk about tonight is about a fundamental transformation of how the world works, about how energy is delivered across Earth."
Sustainable generation (wind and solar) plus stationary storage plus electric transport is the complete solution for a good future.
"you have a complete solution for the future"
He said the most important thing to solve this century is sustainable energy.
"Well, I think the most important thing we need to solve this century is sustainable energy."
He said solar will be the single largest source of electricity generation by mid-century.
"And I feel quite strongly that solar power will be the single largest source of electricity generation by the midpoint of the century."
Even aside from warming, oil runs out and the economy collapses; running the CO2 experiment is the dumbest in history, so we need sustainable production and consumption.
"dumbest experiment in history by far"
It is a certainty that we will move to a sustainable energy economy, because the alternative is burn all the carbon then either go sustainable or the economy collapses. The only question is when, and how many billions of tons of CO2 end up in the atmosphere versus the ground.
"it is a certainty that we will move to a sustainable energy economy"
All transport goes fully electric over time, with the ironic exception of rockets, and all energy production goes sustainable. That takes many decades because the incentive structure is biased against it. A revenue-neutral carbon tax is by far the most effective accelerator.
"all transport to go fully electric over time with the ironic exception of rockets"
He said it is inevitable we will exit the fossil fuel era because we will run out of carbon to mine and burn.
"So it is inevitable that we will exit the fossil fuel era because at a certain point we will simply run out of carbon to mine and burn."
2016 · 10 answers
It makes the transition to sustainable energy more difficult and will dampen interest in EVs. Tesla's answer is to make the car so compelling that even with cheap gasoline it is the car you want.
"makes the transition to sustainable energy more difficult"
Tesla's point is to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport as a catalyst; he thinks all transport except rockets will go fully electric.
"accelerate the Advent of sustainable transport"
Take the actions likely to accelerate sustainable energy: scale production, Model 3 pulled forward two years, half a million cars around 2018, maybe a million a year by 2020.
"accelerate the advent of sustainable energy"
He said the tide of history strongly supports a sustainable energy future, primarily solar and virtually entirely electric vehicles.
"I think the tide of history very strongly supports will be a sustainable energy future, primarily solar and virtually entirely electric vehicles."
He said solar combined with stationary storage and electric vehicles gives a complete solution to a sustainable energy future.
"Then combine that with stationary storage and electric vehicle and you have a complete solution to a sustainable energy future."
He said ultimately all forms of terrestrial transport will go electric.
"ultimately all, you know, all forms of terrestrial transport will go electric."
He said all battery packs will be recycled.
"So all battery packs will be recycled"
He said solar panels need to become as appealing as electric cars have become.
"You really need to make solar panels as appealing as, as electric cars have become."
He said with solar on your house you can power it indefinitely.
"And if you have solar on your, your, on your house, you can power it indefinitely."
He said solar with batteries can avoid building electricity plants at all.
"So the advantage of solar and batteries is that you can avoid building electricity plants at all."
2017 · 13 answers
Eventually almost all houses will have a solar roof, on a 40- or 50-year timescale; in 15 years it would be unusual not to.
"almost all houses will have a solar roof"
He said eventually almost all houses will have a solar roof.
"I think eventually almost all houses will have a solar roof"
He said that 15 years from then it would be unusual to have a roof without solar.
"it will be unusual to have a roof that does not have solar"
He called the solar roof something incredibly revolutionary that is beautiful.
"And so what we created here, I think is something that's going to be incredibly revolutionary, where it's beautiful."
He said the gigafactories will be powered by sustainable energy.
"Even the gigafactory or the gigafactories that make these products will be powered by sustainable energy."
Tesla's overarching optimization is how many years it can accelerate sustainable production and consumption of energy. If they accelerate it by 10 years he would consider that a great success; even 5 years would still be pretty good.
"if we can accelerate sustainable energy by 10 years I would consider that to be a great success"
He guessed that in 10 years more than half of new-vehicle production in the United States would be electric.
"probably in 10 years more than a half of uh new vehicle um production is Electric in the United States"
He said there is no question in his mind that all transport, with the ironic exception of rockets, will go fully electric — planes, trains, automobiles, ships. The unpriced externality is the harm of changing the chemical constituency of the atmosphere and oceans.
"all transport with the ironic exception of rockets will go fully electric"
He said just as a big satellite runs purely on solar and a battery, you can power Earth that way.
"So just as you can power a big satellite purely with solar and a battery, you can power Earth purely with solar and a battery."
He said Tesla insisted on being held to 100 days or it is free.
"And we actually insisted in doing the contract that we be held to the 100 days or it's free."
Australia is well placed for solar (not too far north or south) and could power the whole country with solar, wind, geothermal and hydro, even export power to Asia.
"Australia is really perfect for for solar power"
He said it matters whether the transition to sustainable energy takes 5, 10 or 20 years.
"It matters whether we make the transition to sustainable energy in 5 years, 10 20 years, it really is going to make a difference."
He said they worked as hard as possible to show it is not just talk, it is reality.
"The reason we want to work as hard as we possibly could and get as much done as possible was to show that it's not just talk, it's reality."
2018 · 4 answers
In April 2018 he said Tesla batteries were delivering power at 662 locations in Puerto Rico, with several hundred more coming.
"Tesla batteries are currently live & delivering power at 662 locations in Puerto Rico. Team is working 24/7 to activate several hundred more."
He says South Australia took a chance on the world's biggest battery and it worked out really well.
"South Australia took a chance on doing the world's biggest battery and it's worked out really well."
Says Singapore has enough land to make most of its electricity from solar, at about 250MW per square km.
"Singapore has enough land area to generate most of its electricity from the sun. Solar energy is more than most people realize. 250MW per sq km at current commercial efficiency solar panels."
Says early Teslas could act as a battery outputting power, and that this may be worth revisiting.
"Very early on, we had the ability to use the car as a battery outputting power. Maybe worth revisiting that."
2019 · 2 answers
He said for the future to be good we have to have sustainable energy: sustainable production and consumption of energy, meaning low-cost solar panels and appealing electric cars. Then become a multi-planet species.
"we had to have sustainable energy"
He said humans will solve environmental sustainability. That is not a reason for complacency: we must take immediate and dramatic action and continue the momentum.
"humans will solve environmental sustainability"
2020 · 15 answers
He says buyers will choose between a roof that is alive with power or one that is dead without it.
"It's really going to be a choice of do you want a roof that is alive with power or dead without?"
He says the real problem is scaling battery production to levels people cannot fathom.
"We got to scale battery production to crazy levels that people cannot even fathom today. That's the real problem."
He says the solar glass roof faces challenges but will be a major Tesla product line.
"this will be a major product line of Tesla and the Buffalo factory is doing great."
Tesla open-sourced its patents years ago. Creating a patent portfolio that discouraged others from making electric cars would be inconsistent with accelerating sustainable energy. The real protection is innovating fast enough.
"at Tesla we just uh open sourced our patents uh some years ago"
In April 2020 he said Solar Roof installs should reach 1,000 a week within about a year, maybe by the end of 2020.
"I'm confident that let's say within the next, I don't know, year, maybe even by end of year, we should be installing at a rate of 1,000 a week"
He says Tesla wants at least 1,000 solar roof install teams, for about 1,000 installs a week.
"internally we want to have at least 1,000 solar roof install teams"
He pitches Tesla Solar with a Powerwall so homeowners can be energy-independent and act as their own utility.
"you could also get a powerwall and have energy independence and be your own utility."
He lists the three elements of a sustainable energy future: wind and solar generation, battery storage and electric transport.
"so there's like three elements of the sustainable energy future."
He says battery and solar will both be enormous, as they must be for a sustainable future.
"battery and solar will both be enormous and they kind of have to be in order for us to have a sustainable future."
He said roughly 10 TWh a year of battery production is needed to transition the global vehicle fleet to electric.
"roughly 10 terawatt hours a year of battery production to transition the global fleet of vehicles to electric"
He said roughly 20 to 25 TWh per year sustained for 15 to 25 years would transition the world to renewable energy.
"roughly 20 to 25 terawatt hours per year sustained for 15 to 25 years to transition the world to renewable"
He said battery production would move from gigawatt hours to terawatt hours.
"in the future, we'll be talking in terms of terawatt hours"
He imagines an integrated home system for generation, storage, heating, cooling, air filtration and water purification.
"there's potential for an integrated home system that kind of does power generation, storage, heating, cooling, air filtration, you know, water purification in a really tight package."
He expects batteries in a few years that cost half as much with a third or less of the capex.
"batteries that cost half as much and where the capital expenditures required are a third or less of what they are today."
Range over 600 km is already shown; the fundamental impediment is battery cost so everyone can afford an EV, with a long-term cell-cost goal around 50-55 cents per kWh. Berlin-Brandenburg is meant to become possibly the world's largest cell plant.
"the fundamental impediment to progress with batteries is the cost"
2021 · 4 answers
He said we need to scale electric vehicles dramatically.
"So we need to scale dramatically electric vehicles."
He said solar will be the main source of sustainable energy and energy in general.
"But I think primarily solar will be the main source of energy of sustainable energy and energy in general."
He said demand for stationary storage will be at least as high as for vehicles.
"Because over time we think the demand for stationary storage is going to be at least as high the demand for vehicles."
The combination of solar plus battery can completely solve Earth's energy needs. Earth is a large satellite; satellites already run on solar and a battery. Fusion is unnecessary because the Sun is a low-maintenance fusion reactor that shows up every day.
"the combination of of solar plus battery will can completely solve all of of Earth's energy needs"
2022 · 2 answers
He called 20 million cars a year by 2030 an aspiration, not a promise, needed to dent a world of about two billion cars and trucks.
"the 20 million by 2030 is an aspiration not a promise"
He said with the three pillars of production, storage and electric transport you have a fully sustainable future.
"And if you have those three pillars, you have a fully sustainable future."
2023 · 20 answers
He says Tesla will keep using outside cell suppliers because demand for lithium-ion batteries is quasi-infinite.
"the demand for lithium ion batteries is quasi infinite and will be for quite some time."
With EVs, solar and wind, and stationary storage, he says Earth could become fully sustainable many times over.
"if you have those three things, you can convert all of Earth to a fully sustainable situation many times over actually."
He said wind & solar, combined with batteries, will solve sustainable energy for Earth
"Wind & solar, combined with batteries, will solve sustainable energy for Earth"
He said over time, we expect Giga Nevada to be almost entirely solar-powered
"Over time, we expect Giga Nevada to be almost entirely solar-powered"
He said absolutely. The amount of solar energy reaching Earth could easily power a civilization 100X times our size!
"Absolutely. The amount of solar energy reaching Earth could easily power a civilization 100X times our size!"
He said earth is almost entirely solar-powered already. Without the sun, we’d just be a dark ice ball with some chemotrophic bacteria.
"Earth is almost entirely solar-powered already. Without the sun, we’d just be a dark ice ball with some chemotrophic bacteria."
He said Earth can and will move to a sustainable energy economy within your lifetime.
"Earth can and will move to a sustainable energy economy and will do so in your lifetime."
He said a remarkably small amount of Earth's land area would let us go fully sustainable.
"with a pretty, really a remarkably small amount of Earth's land area, we can go fully sustainable."
He said and if you have enough rooftop solar, you can go off grid for most of year in high latitudes & whole year in low latitudes
"And if you have enough rooftop solar, you can go off grid for most of year in high latitudes & whole year in low latitudes"
He said with enough rooftop solar you can go off grid most of the year at high latitudes and all year at low latitudes.
"And if you have enough rooftop solar, you can go off grid for most of year in high latitudes & whole year in low latitudes"
He says the bottleneck for lithium is refining capacity, not mining, because lithium is common.
"the choke point is much more on refining capacity than it is on mining. Lithium is actually very common throughout the world"
He pleads for entrepreneurs to go into lithium refining instead of making picture-sharing apps.
"Can someone please, instead of making a picture sharing app, please refine lithium mining and refining heavy industry? Come on."
He says stationary storage growth will significantly exceed vehicle growth.
"the stationary storage growth actually will significantly exceed the vehicle growth."
He says Tesla will have by far the most lithium and cathode refining capability in North America.
"We'll have by far the most lithium refining capability and the most cathode refining capability in North America."
He said 10% of the world economy is a small price to pay for a sustainable energy future.
"10% of the world economy is a small price to pay for a sustainable energy future."
He says if trends continue energy use could reach something like a terawatt per person.
"it's going to be something nutty like a terawatt per person"
He said indeed, many parts of the world are reaching high peak levels of renewable energy production! Due to the obviously intermittent nature of wind and solar power, the limiting factor for renewable energy growth is increa...
"Indeed, many parts of the world are reaching high peak levels of renewable energy production! Due to the obviously intermittent nature of wind and solar power, the limiting factor for renewable energy growth is increasingly stationary battery packs at utility scale."
He said electric transportation and solar/wind electricity generation will have a tectonic effect on the geopolitical power balance
"Electric transportation and solar/wind electricity generation will have a tectonic effect on the geopolitical power balance"
He said the climate-change alarm is somewhat overblown in the short term; it is still a long-term concern but exaggerated in the short term.
"the climate change alarm is somewhat overblown in the short term"
He said teslas can charge from solar panels even if the world goes fully Mad Max and there is no more gasoline!
"Teslas can charge from solar panels even if the world goes fully Mad Max and there is no more gasoline!"
2024 · 18 answers
He said earth already receives about the same energy from the Sun in an hour than humanity consumes in a year. Solar panels just need to catch a tiny amount of it to power our entire civilization!
"Earth already receives about the same energy from the Sun in an hour than humanity consumes in a year. Solar panels just need to catch a tiny amount of it to power our entire civilization!"
Asked Are there other examples of physical infrastructure deployments that maintained such a ..., he said hydrocarbons are such a puny source of energy compared to solar (aka free fusion reactor in the sky)
"Hydrocarbons are such a puny source of energy compared to solar (aka free fusion reactor in the sky)"
He said seriously, what an idiot! All that actually matters is how many billions of tons of carbon are moved from underground to the atmosphere. Everything else is immaterial. Solve sustainable energy on the surface (solar/wi...
"Seriously, what an idiot! All that actually matters is how many billions of tons of carbon are moved from underground to the atmosphere. Everything else is immaterial. Solve sustainable energy on the surface (solar/wind/nuclear/geothermal) and you solve it all."
He said long-term, solar & wind with batteries wins, but mostly solar, as it crushes everything at 1GW/km^2. The Sahara alone could power Earth several times over. A corner of Utah or Texas could power all of North America, i...
"Long-term, solar & wind with batteries wins, but mostly solar, as it crushes everything at 1GW/km^2. The Sahara alone could power Earth several times over. A corner of Utah or Texas could power all of North America, including Canada and Mexico."
He said for a country at high latitude, like Sweden, fission makes more sense than (indirect) fusion (aka solar). Solar starts to make sense below 60 degrees latitude and is compelling around ~53 from the equator.
"For a country at high latitude, like Sweden, fission makes more sense than (indirect) fusion (aka solar). Solar starts to make sense below 60 degrees latitude and is compelling around ~53 from the equator."
He said he’s right in the short-term, wrong in the long-term. It will take a massive amount of carbon transferred from deep underground to the surface cycle to change the surface chemistry. Nothing else matters, so we should ...
"He’s right in the short-term, wrong in the long-term. It will take a massive amount of carbon transferred from deep underground to the surface cycle to change the surface chemistry. Nothing else matters, so we should leave the farmers and cows alone and generally stop freaking out about climate change. Moving gradually towards sustainable energy generation (solar & wind) and consumption (electric transport) is fine. No need to panic."
He says people badly underestimate demand for grid storage.
"I think people don't understand just how much demand there will be for grid storage."
He says a grid must support the load at the worst minute of the worst day of the year, which is why storage matters.
"in order for a grid to not have blackouts, it must be able to support the load at the worst minute of the worst day of the year"
He does not think we should vilify the oil and gas industry; if we stopped using oil and gas right now we would all be starving and the economy would collapse.
"I don't think we should vilify the oil and gas industry"
He thinks solar will be a majority of Earth's energy generation. Combined with batteries it charges electric cars; Tesla is trying to move toward a long-term sustainable solution.
"solar is is going to be a majority of of Earth's uh energy generation uh in the future"
He praised solar roofs that generate energy and look good.
"Solar roofs that generate energy and look good too!"
He predicted Tesla would soon ship 100 GWh a year of stationary storage, rising eventually to multiple terawatt-hours.
"It won't be long before we're shipping 100 gigawatt hours a year stationary storage at Tesla."
He says a sustainable energy future needs terawatt scale.
"If you're not at the terawatt scale, you, you're not really moving the needle."
He says Earth has enough raw materials to make all of civilization fully sustainable.
"We actually have enough of the raw materials to protect all of human civilization, make it fully sustainable."
He says Master Plan 3 showed all of Earth can reach fully sustainable energy with sustainable generation and batteries.
"we showed in that master plan that it is possible to take all of Earth to a fully sustainable energy situation"
He said congratulations Tesla Powerwall team! These will make a big difference around the world. With a Powerwall, your home or business has guaranteed continuous power during utility blackouts or brownouts. Add solar to your...
"Congratulations Tesla Powerwall team! These will make a big difference around the world. With a Powerwall, your home or business has guaranteed continuous power during utility blackouts or brownouts. Add solar to your roof and/or nearby ground and you can operate off grid. Add Starlink and you can operate your home with no wires at all!"
He said solar power will be the vast majority of power generation in the future
"Solar power will be the vast majority of power generation in the future"
He said I’ve always felt that the climate predictions were too pessimistic and bound to backfire. Extreme environmentalists can’t say ridiculous things like the world is doomed in 5 years, because 5 years goes by, the world i...
"I’ve always felt that the climate predictions were too pessimistic and bound to backfire. Extreme environmentalists can’t say ridiculous things like the world is doomed in 5 years, because 5 years goes by, the world is ok and they lose credibility. If we transition to primarily sustainable energy consumption (electric transport and heating) and production (mostly solar and fission) within 20 years or so, which is currently trending to happen, the world will be fine imo."
2025 · 29 answers
He says total demand for battery gigawatt hours, mobile or stationary, will grow in a very big way.
"the demand for total gigawatt hours of batteries, whether mobile or stationary, that will grow in a very, very big way over time."
He said essentially all energy will be solar long-term
"Essentially all energy will be solar long-term"
He predicted that eventually 90% or more of all power on Earth will be solar panels with batteries.
"eventually it might be like 90% or more of all power on Earth will be solar panels with batteries"
He says batteries could let power plants run at peak output around the clock, roughly doubling the energy output of existing plants.
"If the power plants could operate at peak power for all 24 hours, as opposed to being at half power, sometimes a quarter power at night, then you could double the energy output of existing power plants."
He expects Tesla's stationary energy storage business to scale eventually to terawatts per year.
"we expect the stationary energy storage business to scale ultimately to terawatts per year."
He says grid batteries let utilities deliver far more total energy than they otherwise could.
"Enables utility companies to output far more total energy than would otherwise be the case."
He describes sustainable abundance as the happiest future he can imagine.
"You'd want abundance rule in a way that's sustainable, it's good for the environment."
He says battery storage is a massive unlock on total grid energy output and utilities are buying Megapacks at scale.
"this is a massive unlock on total energy output of any given grid over the course of a year."
He said solar will obviously be over a billion times more energy than everything else combined
"Solar will obviously be over a billion times more energy than everything else combined"
He said very few people realize that Europe’s entire electricity needs can be met with solar panels covering an area less than the size of the island of Sicily! Battery packs can cover the energy needed during the night.
"Very few people realize that Europe’s entire electricity needs can be met with solar panels covering an area less than the size of the island of Sicily! Battery packs can cover the energy needed during the night."
He said running power plants at max output 24/7 and storing excess in batteries would more than double yearly energy produced.
"Just being able to run power plants at max output 24 hours a day and store the excess energy in battery packs would more than double total energy produced per year."
He said solar is ~100% of energy long-term
"Solar is ~100% of energy long-term"
He said solar power is so obviously the future for anyone who can do elementary math
"Solar power is so obviously the future for anyone who can do elementary math"
He said i agree, but there’s a lot of empty desert that could have solar!
"I agree, but there’s a lot of empty desert that could have solar!"
He said a massive strategic error is being made to damage solar/battery that will leave America extremely vulnerable.
"Yes. A massive strategic error is being made right now to damage solar/battery that will leave America extremely vulnerable in the future."
He said putting solar on a small part of Earth’s deserts would power all the AI chips we could conceivably make.
"So many dumb replies to your post. Your point is that putting solar merely on a small part of the deserts of Earth would power all the AI chips we could conceivably make."
He said he means solar plus batteries, not just solar, and that the entire Starlink constellation of over 7000 satellites is powered that way.
"To be clear, I mean solar+batteries, not just solar. The entire Starlink constellation of over 7000 satellites, which go through Earth shadow many times per day, are just powered by solar+batteries. And Earth is just a giant satellite."
He said even a patch of Spain could power all of Europe with solar.
"True. Simple math. Even a patch of Spain could power all of Europe with solar."
He said solar is the only option that scales.
"Solar is the only option that scales"
He said 1 GW is still small fry, 100 GW continuous probably needs solar and batteries, and at 1 TW+ solar/battery is the only realistic option.
"😉 Still small fry at 1GW. For serious power in the 100GW continuous range (~1/5 of USA average power consumption), it probably needs to be solar/battery powered. At 1TW+, solar/battery is the only realistic option."
He said the US grid can do 1 TW steady state with about 0.5 TW average use, so running plants at night to charge batteries and discharging by day can power AI.
"Batteries. US grid is capable of 1TW steady state, but average usage is ~0.5TW. Run the power plants at night to charge up the packs and then discharge packs during the day to power AI."
He said a large solar-powered AI satellite constellation could prevent global warming by tiny adjustments in how much solar energy reached Earth.
"A large solar-powered AI satellite constellation would be able to prevent global warming by making tiny adjustments in how much solar energy reached Earth"
He said a vast array of solar-powered AI satellites could provide precise shade to keep Earth at the right temperature.
"A vast array of solar-powered AI satellites would be able to provide precise amounts shade to keep Earth at the exact right temperature"
He said if heating Earth is better, redirecting a small amount of solar energy to Earth would solve that too.
"If it turns out that heating is better, redirecting just a small amount of solar energy to Earth would solve that too"
He said Megapack will carry a lot of the world's energy load by letting power plants run continuously.
"Megapack will carry a lot of the world’s load in energy, as it allows power plants to run continuously."
He said solar electricity will become by far the biggest source of power for civilization.
"Solar electricity will become by far the biggest source of power for civilization"
He said the Sun is an enormous free fusion reactor and that even burning 4 Jupiters the Sun would still round to 100% of solar-system power, so tiny Earth fusion reactors are a waste unless treated as a science project.
"The Sun is an enormous, free fusion reactor in the sky. It is super dumb to make tiny fusion reactors on Earth. Even if you burned 4 Jupiters, the Sun would still round up to 100% of all power that will ever be produced in the solar system!! Stop wasting money on puny little reactors, unless actively acknowledging that they are just there for your pet science project jfc."
He called the Sun an enormous free fusion reactor and said making tiny fusion reactors on Earth is super dumb.
"The Sun is an enormous, free fusion reactor in the sky. It is super dumb to make tiny fusion reactors on Earth."
On land use for solar, he said vast empty US deserts could take solar and at least shade the lizards.
"There are vast areas of bleak, empty desert in the US, where adding solar would at least provide some shade for the lizards"
2026 · 8 answers
Energy abundance is the sun; compared with it, all other sources are like cavemen throwing twigs on a fire. He called little Earth-bound fusion reactors farcical and said the US should scale solar substantially.
"all other energy sources are like uh cavemen throwing some twigs into a fire"
He said solar is not a source of energy, it is the source of energy.
"Solar is not A source of energy, it is THE source of energy"
On powering a Moon city, he said reactors aren't needed, just solar power and batteries.
"Reactors aren’t needed, just solar power and batteries"
He said solar will utterly dominate future electricity production.
"Solar will utterly dominate future electricity production"
Solar plus batteries will produce the vast majority of future energy, as they already do on Starlink satellites. US generation is about 1.2–1.3 terawatts versus half a terawatt of average use, so batteries alone could potentially double US energy; he sees very high Megapack demand.
"the solar battery combination will be how the vast majority of energy in the world is produced in the future"
He said China's biggest electricity growth has come from solar, which has the highest potential, and he is not against natural gas as a bridge and for winter solar dips.
"China’s biggest growth in electricity has come from solar, which has by far the highest potential. That said, I am not against using natural gas power as a bridge to solar and even using it long-term to some degree to help with the dip in solar power during the deep winter months."
While talking about the future being decided by AI, robots, and rockets, he said civilization will need more energy, primarily solar, and that he is increasing solar dramatically: putting together 200 gigawatts a year of solar production capacity in the US, which he thinks is much more than currently exists.
"we're putting together 200 gawatts a year of production capacity of solar in in the US which is much more than I think currently exists."
Says Tesla is increasing Megapack production as much as possible.
"We are increasing production of Megapacks as much as possible"