8 Good Things Elon Musk Has Done For The World
He's not always bad.
Zigres / Sundry Photography / Phil Stafford / Shutterstock.com Elon Musk has singlehandedly launched himself into one of the most peculiar positions of internet stardom in the world while also being one of the richest and most successful businessmen on the planet.
While his tweets can be a nuisance (and his acquisition of Twitter might enhance that), he’s done several other things that have contributed to the betterment of society as well as the world as a whole.
Here are 8 good things Elon Musk has done for the world.
1. Tesla cars have launched a war against fossil fuels.
The Tesla company founded by Musk does much more than sell electric car models, but the flagship products of the tech giant are the cars.
All electric, Tesla cars are leading the fight against the world’s reliance on fossil fuels by providing advanced technology and cleaner energy in an efficient and cost-effective way.
The star of the Tesla car show is the battery within the vehicle. One of the best Tesla model batteries could get you over 600 miles on a 100% charge — much farther than a majority of cars that run on crude oil.
If the car can go much farther and cost you less, then why wouldn’t you buy one?
2. Tesla power storage systems.
Powering cars is one thing, but Tesla also deals in the power storage capabilities of homes and businesses.
The Powerpack and the Powerwall are cutting-edge power storage systems that can store solar or wind energy that is created by the home and provides power during the day or night and also doubles as a backup power source in case of outages.
These systems come with the added benefit of monitoring power levels and customizing the use of power in order to give you the most in savings from your regular power source.
3. SpaceX and the final frontier.
If you know anything about Musk, you know that he wants to go to Mars oh-so-badly.
As the frontrunner in the race to sustainable and renewable energy, Musk has recognized the requirement of a backup plan in case Operation: Save Earth From Climate Disaster isn’t a success.
As such, he created SpaceX with the task of colonizing Mars in mind.
Of course, the problem with an alternate solution makes some people believe that Musk has already given up the fight against climate change — the primary solution.
Musk has continued to prove his commitment to the fight against fossil fuels, but it’s understandable why people would think that way.
4. X.com and Paypal e-payments.
On a bit of a lighter note, Musk founded a company in 1999 that was called X.com which focused on email payments and financial services.
This was largely the start of Musk’s massive fortune as his company merged with Confinity and adopted the name of that company’s best-known service, PayPal.
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The merger created a powerhouse that led the way in online payments before being bought out by eBay, netting Musk $165 million in the deal.
5. The Boring Company.
Everyone hates traffic, it’s a well-known fact that I produced from my own mind.
Fortunately, Musk hates traffic so much, that in 2016, he founded a company called The Boring Company that would construct “safe, fast-to-dig, and low-cost transportation, utility, and freight tunnels” that would “solve traffic, enable rapid point-to-point transportation and transform cities.”
Several loops have already been created, most recently in Las Vegas, Nevada, and have proven to be able to transport large amounts of people in short amounts of time, but people have their criticisms of the system, calling it a private success instead of a public one.
6. Starlink satellite internet and the war in Ukraine.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation concept that is being manufactured by SpaceX and hopes to provide worldwide coverage of the internet with faster speeds and at a more affordable price.
While Russia continues its wrongful invasion of Ukraine, Musk sent a bunch of Starlink receivers to Ukraine in order to set up a communications infrastructure to aid in their fight.
This move was seen as slightly controversial for several reasons.
Sending Starlink to Ukraine would clearly piss off the Russians, something that Musk seems to enjoy doing through space travel as well, but people also question why he did it.
Sure, it’s a nice thing to do, but did he do it for a humanitarian cause? Or was he trying to prove how useful and efficient Starlink is by sending it, ultimately marketing the product?
7. Flint, Michigan water crisis and Musk-funded filters.
The Flint, Michigan water crisis has largely been solved in terms of providing safe drinking water to the people of the city but has not ended yet because of lawsuits against the former governing bodies.
Fortunately, the water has been tested for lead particles at around 7 parts per billion, less than half the 15 ppb standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
In 2018, Musk vowed to fix pipes in homes with water contamination as well as provide filtration systems for schools that would work and help alleviate the struggles of the city.
While this was a great idea — something that would have been very kind of him to do — Musk sort of missed the mark.
He did provide a lot of schools with quality filtration systems, but he didn’t fix the pipes in any homes and also missed the mark and failed to solve the original problem — trust in the city.
Water filtration systems are a temporary solution to a much larger problem that may not even work if the people maintaining them don’t do it right.
The problem was the corroded water and the piping throughout the city that was corroding it.
Maybe it was the city who told Musk not to help with the piping in order to rebuild trust with the community, but either way, he accomplished only a small amount of good for the city of Flint.
8. AI technology and advancement.
Inside those pretty Tesla cars exists artificial intelligence systems beyond any average human who doesn’t study the concept’s comprehension.
This AI provides the car with its autopilot system as well as a large portion of the safety and processing capabilities already installed in the vehicle.
The future of AI technology would allow humans to progress in many different ways societally, but with a more specific focus on automation from Musk’s end.
The Tesla Bot that was unveiled a year ago would be Musk’s AI magnum opus that would eliminate the need for humans to perform grueling but necessary tasks that more people don’t want to do.
However, AI is also controversial because it has been prophesized by many to cause a computer takeover of the world.
But look on the bright side, one day you won’t have to throw out your trash or unclog your toilets because the Tesla Bot will do it for you.
The list of controversies Musk has involved himself in is endless, but so are the contributions he’s made to society and its technological advancement.\
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.