Written By Zena Khalaf
Edited By Tracy Huynh
Introduction:
Tesla Inc was founded by engineers Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard in 2003. It was named after inventor Nikola Tesla after being previously called Tesla Motors. Nikola Tesla’s work led to the creation of alternating current (AC), the form of electricity used today. Elon Musk joined the company later in 2004. In 2004, the company produced a prototype for their Tesla Roadster, then started production in 2008. It was the first electric car that could travel 250 miles on a single battery, with acceleration and top speed compared to consumer-level sports cars.
Original Image can be found here.
Tesla has changed people’s perspectives on electric cars. It succeeded in electric cars while other American companies such as General Motors (GM) and Ford failed. The company is among 15% of the world’s largest companies. even though they don’t disclose their overall greenhouse-gas emissions. General Motors and Ford are more transparent about their targets for reducing emissions and the emission produced while making the vehicles. So why does Tesla not disclose its carbon emissions?
The company has not committed to carbon targets over the past few years. Ford and GM both disclose their carbon emissions and have set targets to create net-zero carbon. For example, Ford is planning to create only electric vehicles by 2035. It has invested $27 billion in research and development which is more than what it invests in diesel and gas vehicles. Similarly, Ford has invested $22 billion until 2025 while it plans to be carbon-neutral by 2050. Tesla was once fined in the Bay Area Quality Management District $139,500 for the malfunctioning of their burners which created emission of high levels of nitrogen and Oxide.
Original Image can be found here.
Electric cars need to be light in weight which means that they include lots of high-performing metals. The cars also need other rare metals in magnets such as in the onboard electronics. Most often, these metals come from environmentally destructive mines. These rare metals are found in small quantities and in places where they need to be dug up. At these mines, only a very small amount of rare earth metals are dug up. The other rare earth metals are contaminated with toxic chemicals which are dumped back into the environment. This causes great damage to the Earth.
References
https://www.thestreet.com/technology/history-of-tesla-15088992
https://www.wired.com/2016/03/teslas-electric-cars-might-not-green-think/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timabansal/2021/05/13/how-green-is-tesla-really/?sh=79934da01576
https://www.thestreet.com/technology/history-of-tesla-15088992