Elon Musk criticizes a popular fuel as “stupid.” The South African entrepreneur minced no words in expressing his skepticism about hydrogen as an alternative to electric cars, despite its growing popularity in the mobility sector.
Musk has always been a strong advocate of batteries over hydrogen models. His position is not surprising, given that he is the CEO of Tesla, a maker of electric cars, batteries and energy storage solutions.
At the 2022 Cars of the Future event, Musk said hydrogen “is the stupidest way” he could imagine for energy storage. He also expressed disagreement with hydrogen fuel cells, which he considers “extremely stupid.”
Despite criticism from Elon Musk, hydrogen is gaining ground in the mobility sector. Some industries cannot use electric power or batteries, and in these cases hydrogen appears to be the only viable option. Hydrogen can be considered an energy carrier, attracting more by its density per mass than by its volume.
However, Musk remains firm in his stance and has stated that there will be no hydrogen Tesla. He also used irony to announce that the company will abandon batteries in 2024, a statement that sparked widespread reactions in the industry.
Although Elon Musk’s opinion is strong, some companies, such as Toyota and Hyundai, have already produced hydrogen fuel cell cars. In 2021, the BMW Group began testing hydrogen fuel cell cars on European roads, describing the technology as having “long-term potential to complement internal combustion engines, plug-in hybrid systems and battery electric vehicles “.
However, Musk maintains his confidence in electric cars and does not plan to abandon this technology for Tesla. According to him, electric cars have enormous potential and are the most viable solution for the future of mobility.