Seth Millstein

Musk’s record on the environment is mixed. There was a time when he had a reputation as an environmentalist, as the success of his electric car company Tesla was seen as a positive step in reducing transportation-related greenhouse emissions. Over the last few years, however, Musk’s politics have drifted steadily to the right, and that includes his stance on global warming and sustainability. In a recent conversation with Donald Trump, Musk downplayed climate change’s urgency, claiming that “it’s not like the house is on fire immediately” and that “people can still have a steak and they can still drive gasoline cars, and it’s okay.” Musk’s statements are often contradictory, however. He went on to characterize climate action as “something we need to move towards,” albeit “without causing hardship in the short term.” Musk has also praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who made headlines recently for banning the sale of cultivated meat in his state. And yet despite all of this, Musk’s company SpaceX has collaborated with Aleph Farms, an Israeli company that makes alternative meat, to investigate the viability of growing cultivated meat in space. In 2022, a four-man team flew to the International Space Station on a SpaceX capsule with cultivated beef cells in tow, and studied the viability of growing those cells into edible meat in zero gravity conditions. It seems contradictory: Musk’s company participates in an experiment that promotes meat alternatives (in space, at least), yet he’s also vocally downplayed beef’s role in driving climate pollution (back on Earth). While only Musk knows what’s going on in his head, the fact remains that his company has at least played a small role in research to advance cultivated meat technology. Outside of that, Musk’s company Tesla stopped using animal products in its cars in 2019, replacing the traditional leather seats with vinyl. (Good Men Project:  How Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates and Musk Are Trying — Or Not Trying — To Make Meat Sustainable  9/15/24)

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