Musk: "More Oil and Gas Needed... Well-Designed Nuclear Plants Should Not Be Closed"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said that while continuing to make massive investments in sustainable energy development, oil and gas extraction must continue to maintain civilization.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, Musk made the remarks on the 29th (local time) at an energy-related conference held in Stavanger, Norway, stating, "More oil and gas are needed, but at the same time, I believe we must move to a sustainable energy economy as quickly as possible."

He diagnosed that "the big challenge the world faces now is transitioning to sustainable energy and a sustainable economy," but "it will take decades to complete." Ultimately, he explained that in the short term, more oil and gas are inevitably needed, and without oil and gas, civilization itself will be difficult to sustain.

He argued, "Nuclear power plants must also continue to operate," adding, "I know this opinion is not supported by some, but if there are well-designed nuclear power plants, they should not be shut down."

These remarks came amid rising energy crisis concerns across Europe due to Russia's war in Ukraine. WSJ reported that "Musk's comments struck politically sensitive Europe, which is divided over nuclear power."

Meanwhile, in his speech that day, Musk mentioned, "The current focus is on SpaceX's Starship spacecraft reaching orbit within this year and Tesla cars achieving autonomous driving." He also added that he hopes that with regulatory approval, at least in the United States, free-driving technology can be widely released within this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.