Elon Musk is a libertarian – and why EVs should be apolitical

By Edward A. Sanchez – Dec. 31, 2021

For whatever reason, whether because “Big Oil” has become so synonymous with the GOP and conservative politics and business, EVs have, for better or for worse, become associated with various liberal, progressive, and environmental activist causes. This association has become weaponized by some on the right as being an assault on civil liberties, and an insidious big-government agenda to take internal combustion engines out of our cold dead hands. To which I say, by-and-large, good riddance to ICE. Sure, I still see some current edge cases in which internal combustion powertrains make sense, and I will always have an appreciation for the legendary engines from history. But aside from vintage class racing, classic car shows and concourses, and nostalgic meet-ups, I’m not going to shed that many tears for the transition away from the “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” model of propulsion.

The internal combustion model had its rightful place in history as a transformative technology that ushered in more than a century of unprecedented growth and technological progress that brought dozens of countries out of poverty, and gave them mobility, commerce, and freedom of movement like never before. Even at the advent of the internal-combustion age, people commented on the smell and noise of the engines, with emissions not really being addressed until the 1970s and the advent of catalytic converters.

But it’s time to turn the page and accept that the next chapter of mobility is going to be electric.

Business in general is more opportunistic than partisan, and once it’s clear there’s money to be made in the new electric transportation paradigm, you can bet the titans of the transportation industry will champion it vigorously – as many of them already are. In time, mainstream, and even right-leaning investment professionals, will inevitably get on board.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, there’s one name above all others that has become synonymous with electric cars. Of course, we’re talking about Tesla’s Elon Musk. Love him or hate him, few can rationally argue he hasn’t had a transformational role in the shift toward electrified transportation.

Getting back to my earlier point about EVs being automatically associated with liberal and environmentalist causes, Musk has arguably done just as much to raise the ire of the left as the right.

Somehow, plugging a car in has become a political issue – and that might not be the best thing. (Image courtesy Tesla)

While not an ardent anti-vaxxer, Tesla and Musk took a somewhat cavalier attitude toward public health orders from the state of California and Alameda County in May 2020, in which the factory continued to operate in defiance of county and state health orders intended to stem the spread of COVID-19. Soon thereafter, Musk threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters from California to Texas, a promise he recently made good on. Despite franchise auto dealerships’ coddled status in the Lone Star state, and its notoriously hostile approach toward manufacturer-direct car sales, Gigafactory Austin is within months of coming online, and starting production of the Model Y and wedge-shaped Cybertruck.

And the latest spat Musk has gotten into with the political left is terse Twitter volleys between himself and Senator Elizabeth Warren, in which he called her “Senator Karen” for inferring he wasn’t paying his fair share in taxes. Whether or not he is truly paying the most taxes of anyone in history, $10 billion is hardly chump change.

He also replied to a tweet from Senator Bernie Sanders by saying, “I keep forgetting you’re still alive.”

Ouch.

Let’s also not forget his recent reply to a New York Times business roundtable event when he said government should “get out of the way,” and that subsidies for EVs should be eliminated entirely.

So what’s the takeaway from Musk’s seemingly flippant and sophomoric behavior toward progressive politicians? Well, at least from this small-“l” libertarian’s perspective, that maybe the progressives should tap the brakes a little on their social agenda and let innovators innovate, and not pursue and punish entrepreneurs so vigorously for their success. I know there are many that have a different perspective than I do, as perhaps many of you do reading this.

But can we take a break from false outrage for a moment to acknowledge that well-meaning people can have different perspectives and opinions about things, and that’s OK, and not necessarily an invitation for politicians to take to the podium in self-righteousness, or angry, agitated mobs to call for executive resignations?

(Illustration by Kirstine Rosas)

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