Elon Musk is out of this world sometimes.
Yup, I just went all super bad pun to start this post off with but you know, it felt right.
The world as we know it is in a bit of a crisis mode wherever you look. There is a bit of a problem happening in Europe as Russia continues to roll over its sovereign neighbor to the south in Ukraine. The Chinese are thinking about when they should do more than flyovers in Taiwan and all of this helps contribute to uncertainty in people’s everyday lives and the financial markets.
The one indicator that everyone can see each and every day is the oil and gas market as you motor around your town and see what the cost of petro is. My colleague Mike Miller covered this yesterday in his post: Buttigieg’s ‘Short Term Problems’ Argument Against Keystone XL Is Both Funny and Terrifying. From his article where Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said…
I want to stay on gas for another moment. You’re absolutely right, the president does not set the price of gas, but he can influence it. And while releasing some strategic reserves matters, given how much has been released, it is really just a drop in the bucket.
Are there things, and I realize this is controversial, it has huge environmental impacts, could the president possibly consider authorizing the Keystone Pipeline? Or working something out with Iran?
Buttigieg’s response was ludicrous at best — and a potential strategic disaster at worst.
Look, the president has said that all options are on the table.
But we also need to make sure that we are not galloping after permanent solutions to immediate short term problems, where more strategic and tactical actions in the short term that can make a difference, like what you have with the strategic reserve, which exists partly in order to respond to situations like this.
The president has laid policies that are going help cushion the impacts of any volatility in energy markets in the future [um, huh?] by building up more of a diversified and homegrown energy base for this country.
He just said what?
Back not too long ago, in November of 2020, the United States of America was an energy exporter. In not so literal terms, we were rolling in so much oil we had enough for us to use and to share with the rest of the world. For a country that has for so long depended on other countries for oil, this was a great thing for our security and your pocketbook.
As the kids say win/win.
Now we are buying oil from Russia which helps pay for their excursion into Ukraine and also talking about purchasing from the nuke-seeking Iranians to help fund that project. Is the Biden foreign policy team watching old films of France surrendering in World War II as a guide for peace?
Thankfully, some smart people who have a track record of success with life in general, are noticing and are willing to speak up and out about this. Even if it costs them in their business ventures.
From Space X and Tesla founder, Elon Musk:
Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately.
Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately.
Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.
and he followed it up with this
Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately.
Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports.
“Negatively affect Tesla?”
Duh.
This is the brilliance of Musk, though, and probably one of the reasons he is wildly successful. He is viewing this problem through the lens of reality and he correctly comes up with the logical solution. If just 14 months ago we were solid with energy production, and not just with the building of the Keystone pipeline, but pumping out of various wells in this country, why not go back to it ASAP?
That he is willing to bite the bullet with his company so the country can recover quickly from this disastrous energy policy and use cars drinking fossil fuels is extraordinary. I now fully understand why so many people love this guy, including my other colleague here at RedState, the one and only Scott Hounsell.
This is just flat-out leadership and in the crazy times we live in it is a welcome signal that maybe not all the world is crazy.
Well, at least one can hope.
Story cited here.
