Elon Musk has definitely made a name for himself in the automotive industry and beyond (literally, with SpaceX) in a relatively short time span. His reputation was built on showing off the things his companies had achieved (and making comparisons to what other companies haven’t), coupled with his strong visionary attitude towards the future and humans’ evolving transportation needs/problems.
You can swap out ‘visionary’ with whatever word you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that he still wants to build a supersonic-vacuum-tube-train and thinks it would work.
However, Musk is sometimes a bit too outspoken about his personal views, and this time he definitely got on a few people’s nerves with what he said. During a speech he was giving at the opening of a new Tesla service center in Germany, the EV maker’s CEO and co-founder revealed his disapproval of hydrogen-fuel cell-powered vehicles by saying they are “so bullshit. Except in a rocket.”
He backs up his claim by adding that current fuel-cells lack the necessary energy storage capacity of lithium-ion cells (like on the Model S), still seeing conventional batteries as the way to go.
You can check out his entire speech below, though most of what is said (aside from Musk’s own words) is in German. Skipping through to the 29th minute, when he says it, may not be the worst idea if you don’t speak the language – he starts speaking after the 15-minute mark.
By Andrei Nedelea
Story References: YouTube via Wired
