Why I Don’t Agree with Elon Musk and Like the Guy Anyway

Dumb ideas and one good plan combined

Lots of people in the innovative business spaces drool over Elon Musk. But I’m not so much the drooling type. I like to think for myself and connect the dots I see in the world. And what I see from Elon doesn’t impress me. His thinking is limited. His words have lots of power. And he often doesn’t realize that power comes with a huge responsibility.

So, what don’t I like? And what do I like?

For me, most people have this double side of the medal. To create a no-guru world we shouldn’t cancel people. I’ll never put anyone on a pedestal. But I will not kick anyone off either when they make mistakes. We’re all human you know. Even Elon Musk has to visit the toilet…

Zoomed Out Vision

Elon makes cars and spaceships. Electric cars and batteries. And he sells them with lots of greenwashing about how we’re going to save the world with his Tesla cars. And if we’re not going to save the planet, at least a few rich guys can escape to Mars.

Well, keep on dreaming. If we really would all drive electric Teslas, our troubles would be bigger than ever…

So, what’s wrong with electric cars and spaceships?

• They use way too much energy that has to be produced somewhere. Huge windmill parks might have adverse effects on ocean ecosystems if we don’t take the full system effects into account.
• Tesla batteries are full of lithium and cobalt. Elon invests in African cobalt mines where young children are ruining their lives and we are definitely ruining the ecosystems of Congo.
• Cars are never a good solution for cities if you compare it with walking, cycling, and public transport. The distances are too short. The congestion gets too big. We just take up too much space as humans in an empty car.
• Spaceships are mighty inspiring, but only for two reasons and those are not on Elon’s agenda (yet):

1. From Apollo 11 we made pictures from our beautiful Blue Marble for the first time and realized as humanity we had a home to take care of.
2. Spaceships are little self-sustaining factories where every component is circularly used. We could use this as a great inspiration to build our new cars, houses, and definitely also our factories!

Evolutionary Innovation

So, what could Elon do?

Elon could be changing the WHY of his company to become zoomed out. He can make a new mission: “Evolutionary Mobility” instead of making cars and spaceships. He would be creating an extra department of young, super creative professionals who would really re-invent the world of mobility. And inspire all others in the company to think evolutionary too.

What is evolutionary?

Regeneration is happening quickly now and it’s taking us on an evolutionary path. Regeneration means self-healing. We live on a self-regulating planet and if we adopt life’s principles and the right mindset we will re-invent our world with regeneration.

For Elon, it would mean going from mining to farming. We can create batteries without lithium and cobalt if we go to nanotechnology and industrial hemp.

The hemp (don’t confuse the industrial version with his high-making brother cannabis) has beautiful long fibers that can be used for a lot of innovation in our world. Your next dress can be made from hemp too.

Hemp is one of the local, abundantly available materials that will change our world. And it grows easily. Without fertilizer, without chemical spray.

One mindset we have to shift is that of scale and uniformity. One uniform, scaled-up solution is never a good solution. We need to adapt solutions to local ecosystems and local cultures and use a diversity of solutions to be really sustainable. We have to embrace systemic thinking and find a momentary balance of all values.

Sometimes we scale a good idea with such speed that it becomes very unsustainable. We need to combine it in a really systemic design of doing things.

Example? The showerhead with less water. People think: Oh I save water. And then they shower longer or more often. We minimize on use of water per shower moment and we maximize again on duration. Our Earth functions with communicating vessels. One goes down, another goes up. So we have to balance all factors together. In this case water, time, and the happiness of showering.

Result of the water-saving showerhead? We waste more water.

If we don’t solve where the water goes, how it’s cleaned and used again for new showers, water consumption will only rise.

One mindset we have to shift is that of scale and uniformity. We have to embrace systemic thinking

Cryptocurrencies

Elon has a huge influence on another world-changing innovation. The money market of cryptocurrencies. I’m a big believer in cryptos. No wait, I don’t mean Bitcoin. That’s crypto for the sake of getting rich quick, speculation, and tech blindness. I love cryptos for their mind-blowing potential of decentralized economies. Basic incomes. Fair money for all.

A lot is happening in this world of cryptos. And Elon has a huge influence in the often still unstable crypto markets.

The Dogecoin developers are welcoming the tech advice of Elon. But they also fear the spotlight on their coin. Every tweet by Elon sends the Dogecoin into a spin.

And then there’s the hype of ‘Will Elon accept Bitcoins to buy a Tesla or not?’ First, he says he wants to consider it. Bitcoin rockets. Then he says that blockchain (the tech behind Bitcoin) is not sustainable because of its huge energy consumption. And Bitcoin plunges into an abyss.

Please, Elon, take your responsibility. These developments are not meant to get richer yourself. You don’t need the money! People in poor communities need these new systems to stay alive in future economies and pay for their children’s daily bread…

These seriously experimenting developers are building our future decentralized monetary systems. To end poverty. To end hunger. To make a good life for all people possible. They should be given some space out of the constant spotlight to make it happen wisely and effectively.

What’s my view on blockchain and sustainability? Elon is right that blockchain is slurping energy. And that’s not cool! But he knew that from the start. No need to hype it. If we think evolutionary, we should be working on the next versions of the blockchain.

Bitlattice should be adopted. Bancor protocols. Incorporating mathematics of the Superformula and Gielis transformations in new versions of the blockchain could be a good idea too. This mathematics beyond zeros and ones can decrease the energy use of what’s sent over the internet by a factor of one million. We only have to send one dot, instead of many different forms and shapes.

Let’s be imaginative and recognize the science of the future. Combine dots to find the best solution for our grandchildren’s world. Everything and everyone has a right to evolution!

If we think evolutionary, we should be working on the next versions of the blockchain

Tiny Houses

The reason for writing this article has not been to bash Elon, though. I read something lately that shifted my mind from ‘not being interested in his blah blah’ to hmm… if that happens it could be evolutionary.

This article in the NY Post caught my eye.

And as you know, my personal project Abundanism believes in minimalism. The best way to save our planet right now is to heal our shopping-and-impressing-others-with-what-we-own urges.

So, what do I like about this article?

• The huge impact it would have if Elon would inspire many others to want to live in tiny houses that can be transported easily. He would design them with some comfort I guess; make them affordable.
• The combination of tiny houses and local energy grids will solve much. It makes us rethink big-scale, uniform old-fashioned thinking about energy. And if he would combine that with big innovation on material use like the hemp I mentioned, he’s my man!
• Systemic thinking would enter the fields of house, mobility, and energy. If we can solve those issues with imaginative technology and wisdom for the future, I’m a happy woman!

And apparently, Elon agrees with me. Making it cool to own little and living mindfully is one of the best evolutionary steps to take. Don’t hold on to the past. Live in the present. And imagine a better future. Elon understands the first bit (own little) apparently, and still has to work a little on the second part (mindful evolution).

Well, no one is perfect… certainly not me. I learn new things every day… I just try to be flow.

And at this moment, it means we are selling our caravan in Holland and will be going nomadic. Through Europe first. Extending it to other places where groups need our help to make the evolutionary future happen. Volunteering. Earning our money online. Staying longer so we can really connect to the locals and the local ecosystems. And contribute with our heads, hearts, and hands.

Our life is an adventure and I’m only 6 years older than Elon. I really hope we’ll inspire each other both ways. And support others to create their own great adventures in life too.

Happy evolutionary journey, my friends!

Want to connect? You can subscribe to our newsletter on our website Abundanism.com or find me on social media. I’ll be somewhere on our beautiful planet, with my hands in the soil and my eyes gazing at quantum leaps towards a better future. Thank you, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my words.

© Désirée Driesenaar