Elon Musk Steps In To Remind Trump Energy Department That Batteries Exist
(AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Elon Musk stepped in on Sunday to highlight a glaring issue with the Department of Energy’s attack on renewable energy by reminding the administration of a key invention – battery storage.
The polite clapback came after the Department of Energy amplified President Donald Trump’s familiar broadside against renewables while sharing Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s Washington Examiner interview, blaming wind and solar power for rising electricity prices.
Attempting to score its own cheap points on Friday, the DOE’s account declared, “Wind and solar energy infrastructure is essentially worthless when it is dark outside, and the wind is not blowing.”
The Tesla Energy boss, whose company produces large-scale battery storage systems, responded with a pointed: “Um… hello?”
He then linked the department to a film about his firm’s energy storage work in Australia where its large-scale energy storage product, Megapack, services utilities in a rural area with severe grid instability using solar power.
Musk’s input, however, only came after a weekend of mockery online and a community note adding that “storage” is an essential part of renewable infrastructure.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office piled on, writing it was “excited for the Trump admin to learn about BATTERIES.”
Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan blasted the “ignorant” officials and admitted he is “genuinely not sure how the US ever recovers from this.”
“Quick, someone invent the battery,” quipped sports journalist Zach Buchanan.
