Elon Musk tried to launder Donald Trump’s disastrous climate record — it didn’t work
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo by Grzegorz Wajda, Getty Images
During their glitchy, rambling, two-hour “conversation” on X last night, Elon Musk made the case to Donald Trump that climate change was real and maybe electric cars weren’t as bad as the former president has been making them out to be on the campaign trail. The result was a feeble attempt by a once-lauded environmentalist to launder the former president’s disastrous record on climate change.
Musk, who endorsed Trump following the failed assassination attempt and is helping fund a super PAC supporting his election, tried to placate Trump by offering his own support for oil and gas drilling and minimizing the threat posed by climate change. But he also attempted to win over Trump by offering a more MAGA-friendly pitch for his own EVs.