The world should stop vilifying the oil and gas industry, Elon Musk told Donald Trump in an interview on X, reiterating previous similar calls.
“My views on climate change and oil gas […] are pretty moderate,” Musk told Trump during the conversation.
“I don’t think we should vilify the oil and gas industry and the people that have worked very hard in those industries to provide the necessary energy to support the economy,” added the Tesla CEO billionaire, who has endorsed Trump for president.
Musk also said that realistically the world could transition to a sustainable economy in 50 to 100 years—a timeframe which Trump extended to “100 to 500 years” later on in the interview, without Musk correcting him.
Tesla’s boss and the face of the energy transition for many enthusiasts also said that regarding oil and gas “it’s not like the house is on fire immediately.”
“It’s probably better to move there faster than slower. But like without vilifying the oil and gas industry and without causing hardship in the short term,” Musk added.
That’s not the first time the billionaire has called on the public to stop “demonizing” fossil fuels. He did that at the end of last year when he told an Italian right-wing summit that it was time to be “pragmatic” and “sensible”, instead of demonizing oil and gas–at least in the medium term.
Donald Trump, for his part, has been a staunch supporter of the U.S. oil and gas industry and has claimed for years that the Biden Administration’s EV mandate will wreck good-paying American auto industry jobs.
But Trump has expressed favorable opinions of electric vehicles (EVs) at some rallies since Musk endorsed him.
Trump hasn’t flip-flopped on support for oil and gas. The Republican presidential candidate has pledged to ramp up U.S. domestic oil production and undo some regulations to make that happen.