Tesla Cybertruck A Top Solution To Help Avert Climate Catastrophe
Credit to Author: Kurt Lowder| Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2019 04:00:36 +0000
Published on November 22nd, 2019 | by Kurt Lowder
November 22nd, 2019 by Kurt Lowder
This article takes a big-picture view of the historic night of November 21, 2019, when the Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled. It won’t focus so much focus on the details of the CyberTruck (go here for that), but instead on where Tesla is going and my opinions on clean technology in general.
First, let me take you back to another November day in history. The year was 1991, and I was only 10 years old. It is one of the few moments from my childhood that I can remember in such vivid detail. My mother is an extrovert and a caregiver who primarily speaks in sweet and excited tones. On this day, she spoke to me in such a calm and serious tone that I will never forget the feeling it evoked. She said to me, “Kurt, you must watch this. You will not understand it all, but this is a very important moment in history. You will remember this moment for the rest of your life, and when you are older you will understand why I made you watch this.”
If you have not already guessed it, my mother calmly demanded with sincere humility that I watch the fall of the Berlin Wall. Incidentally, I recently celebrated the announcement of Gigafactory 4 with one of my best friends who lives in Germany. It is funny to think I may not have become such close friends with him had my mother not made me so curious about the world and its people on that day.
But coming back to the Cybertruck unveiling. At the last minute, I sent a text out to my mother and my wife. I wrote to them that we would be having a small party to watch the Cybertruck event. I told them that I felt this could be an important moment in history. Over the past three years, I have become largely convinced that Tesla has become a sort of de facto leader of the environmental movement. Perhaps I am being too much of a FanMan, but allow me to make a few points. (And note that I certainly don’t mean to detract from our many important environmental leaders, movements, and organizations.)
In 2012, Tesla came out with what I thought was a $100,000+ toy for rich people. I was convinced that only public transportation could lead to a sustainable world. I thought for the most part vehicles would have to be outlawed. At that time, I would have supported a phased-in ban on vehicles. Well, by 2022, Tesla will have a massive king cab truck that will cost as little as $40,000, or for $47,000 will be well on its way to fully self-driving. That is just astonishing progress in a mere decade.
In 2016, Tony Seba helped me see where Tesla was going. The rich boy toys were just a means to an end. You see, the future is not all of us riding around in Cybertrucks. The Cybertruck is just a stepping stone to a future where 95% of the vehicle miles traveled will be people riding in self-driving taxis, shuttles, and buses. Ultimately, riding in a self-driving taxi will cost about as much as insuring a new car, maybe a little more. These claims may seem outlandish, but if you watch this presentation below, I think you will be convinced of their validity.
The Cybertruck and other Tesla vehicles are a bridge to this future, which is the reason I wrote the article: “Why Buying A Tesla Is The Best Thing You Can Do For The Environment.” The innovators and early adopters buying a Tesla are subsidizing a future of abundance for the whole world. Trillions of dollars will be saved. Millions of lives will be saved due to fewer car accidents, less pollution, and less stress from being chronically broke (financially).
So, in Tesla FanMan fashion, allow me to not be calm and serious like my mother was. I may seem hyperbolic, but genuinely I think buying a Tesla Cybertruck in the near term is the greatest sustainable act a middle-class person can take. Now, the whole world cannot go around owning and driving Cybertrucks. If that was Tesla’s plan, I would write scathing article after scathing article laying out how unsustainable that would be.
However, in the short term, the early adoption of Tesla trucks and other vehicles is paramount to saving the planet from climate catastrophe. Their early adoption allows the technology to rapidly evolve into something much better. Some important people are arguing that very little government action may be needed to create a sustainable world because clean technology is improving so rapidly. This is a rapid departure from what was generally anticipated a decade ago. To clarify, in no way am I saying we should stop pushing for government action, but rather that we should be pushing for the early adoption of clean technology at least as much as we push for government action.
Tesla products contain a message hope, a dedication to do whatever it takes when our corrupt governments fail us.
Many people are shocked by the image of the Tesla Cybertruck, but I think it’s the most beautiful vehicle I have ever seen. No doubt, it’s odd compared to the conventional trucks we have today, but it is designed around the first principals of physics. It is designed to be safe, functional, and efficient. When one truly understands the design, its beauty becomes more and more apparent. This vehicle will grow on people. More importantly, it will stand out amongst the crowd of poison-spewing trucks. Tesla does not have to convince all vehicle customers to go electric. It just has to convince enough early adopters to get the price of EVs lowered. It will be a domino effect after that, as, eventually, EVs from various brands will be superior in every way that matters.
Now, maybe I seem in need of a cold shower, but I have seen the heart that has been poured into Tesla vehicles. It comes from employees who have sacrificed so much of their lives to create something truly excellent and ground-breaking. Its come early adopters stretching their budget to fund the innovation that is occurring at Tesla. It comes from writers who slave away to bring us the truth about Tesla’s innovation. (Most authors on this site could make 10 times as much if they chose to pedal anti-Tesla FUD.)
My mother and wife excitedly watched the Tesla Cybertruck event with me. They both want one! Though, all three of us will likely just share one. My mom and wife will generally get to take it when they want — I can always walk. Watching the Cybertruck event was one of the best nights of my life because after all my studying of clean technology, I am now more confident it will dominate sooner than most people think. We have always wanted a Tesla. Now it’s clear we need to have a Tesla and share it.
The next few million vehicles that Tesla sells will dramatically lower the cost of batteries and self-driving technology. In a decade, I would not be surprised if Tesla made more profit from energy storage than from transportation. Energy storage will not become affordable soon enough unless millions of EVs are sold ASAP. I would not be surprised if Tesla became a distributed utility. It certainly is possible Tesla could do so in northern California where PG&E has failed its customers so severely.
I encourage you to think strongly about purchasing a Tesla if you can afford one. It is an action that I think will echo in eternity.
The next few million Tesla customers will change the world. Pickup trucks are a perfect example of toxic masculinity. They are large and wasteful. Often, their drivers don’t even need them. Well, Tesla has turned toxic masculinity into human-saving masculinity.
My wife and I are determined to buy a Tesla Cybertruck with the hope that it will be the last vehicle we ever purchase. We think it’s possible we could own it our entire lives, and hope to see it reach one million miles. Most days, we will not use it We plan to rent it out on turo.com to help afford such a luxury. Of course, as soon as it has full self-driving software updates, we will operate it as an income-generating, self-driving taxi. We do plan to take epic road trips in it and advocate for sustainable living. It has been a dream ours to at least try to be sustainable travel bloggers. We never imagined being able to do it so soon, but with a $40,000 price tag, we are gearing up for an incredible 2022.
As Bill McKibben once tweeted, “Let’s do this!”
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Kurt Lowder I am a jock turned wannabe geek. I fell in love with science later in life thanks to the History Channel show the “Universe.” Having taught middle school science, I strongly feel Astronomy should be taught every year because nothing excites students more than learning about the cosmos. I became an avid cleantech fan because it gives me hope about the future. My wife, my dogs, and I live simply because we love to travel the world backpacker style.