Musk’s green facade by Marja Heikkinen

In a world where billionaires are hailed as saviors or savaged as villains, Elon Musk has managed to weave himself into a peculiar mythos. The self-styled Iron Man of the tech world, Musk has been praised, criticized, worshipped, and scorned often all at once. The man who promised to drag humanity into the future, blazing trails to Mars and championing clean energy on Earth, now finds himself cast in a rather unflattering light. After years of preaching environmental salvation through Tesla’s sleek electric chariots, it turns out that Musk might be just another slick salesman, expertly playing the green trend to fill his coffers.

Tesla’s rise was meteoric. The cars were fast, stylish, and most importantly electric. While the competition scrambled to catch up, Musk positioned himself as the modern-day Prometheus, bringing clean energy to the masses. Tesla wasn’t just a car company; it was an ideology, a movement that promised to save the planet one battery at a time.

But the deeper one digs, the clearer it becomes that the green facade is just that a facade. Musk’s relentless expansion into lithium mining, the environmental impact of Gigafactories, and the colossal carbon footprint of rocket launches paint a different picture. Let’s not forget the labor practices that would make any eco-conscious consumer wince—everything from union-busting to underpaid workers at Tesla factories.

In a way, Musk’s journey mirrors that of his political mentor, Donald Trump. Both men excel at harnessing public perception, manipulating the media, and rallying a following that defends them against any criticism. Musk, however, went further by cloaking his capitalist ambitions in a shimmering coat of green virtue.

When Twitter, now known as X, became his playground, the mask slipped. Environmental consciousness gave way to reactionary outbursts and bizarre conspiratorial musings. The world watched as Musk, who once stood as the icon of a sustainable future, devolved into yet another tech billionaire flailing to hold onto his own myth.

Perhaps the most glaring contradiction in Musk’s supposed green ethos lies in the dirty business of lithium mining. Tesla’s thirst for lithium is insatiable, and the extraction process is anything but environmentally friendly. Indigenous communities have voiced their outrage, activists have raised the alarm, but Musk’s smirking response “We’ll coup whoever we want!” reveals a callous indifference to the human and environmental toll.

It’s easy to be swept up in the flashy presentations and bold promises, but scratch the surface, and the rot becomes evident. Whether it’s the scorched earth left behind in lithium mining regions or the persistent issues with battery disposal and recycling, the dream of a clean future through Tesla’s machinations seems increasingly hollow.

The uncomfortable truth is that Musk, like Trump, understood the power of tapping into public sentiment. Where Trump capitalized on nationalism and fear, Musk capitalized on hope and progress. Both sold dreams, and both fell short, one building walls, the other building rocket ships. In the end, neither delivered the utopia they promised.

The real tragedy here is not Musk’s hypocrisy it’s the betrayal of millions who genuinely believed in his vision. While the world hurtles toward climate catastrophe, the one man who positioned himself as a champion of the planet turns out to be just another profiteer.

There’s a lesson to be learned here, one about idolizing billionaires and mistaking their self-interest for altruism. Elon Musk may continue to tweet defiantly into the void, but the myth is crumbling. His environmental crusade was never about saving the planet, it was about leveraging a trend, exploiting a movement, and selling a dream to those desperate for solutions. In the end, Elon Musk is not the Iron Man of sustainability but rather a greenwasher in a very expensive suit.