Billionaire Elon Musk shared some intriguing views at the Energy conference of European oil and gas producers in Norway, on Monday. The CEO of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA) and a pioneer of the EV revolution in the U.S. said that currently, the world needs “more oil and gas, not less.” At the same time, he pressed the urgency to move towards a “sustainable energy economy.”
Remarkably, Musk also stressed the need to have nuclear power plants across the globe. “We should really keep going with the nuclear plants. I know this may be an unpopular view in some quarters. But I think if you have a well-designed nuclear power plant, you should not shut it down, especially right now,” he added.
Europe is particularly facing a huge shortage of oil and gas resources, as most of its supply came from Russia. The Russia-Ukraine war has not only created a shortage of these important natural resources but also led to a massive jump in their prices worldwide.
Europe’s Energy Crisis
The conference was called to discuss the global energy crisis, which has resulted in record-high wholesale energy prices, especially in Europe. With the advent of the winter season, leaders worry that the already short supply of resources will further accentuate the problem, as European countries utilize maximum electricity during the season.
Additionally, France is already struggling with outages at its nuclear power plants, which used to contribute about 70% of the country’s electricity. France used to even export some of its nuclear power. On the contrary, France has now bought electricity from neighboring countries, like Spain, the U.K. et al., who have energy problems of their own.
Germany, on the other hand, is mulling whether to shut down its last three nuclear plants soon but is delaying its decision due to the low supply available from other sources. Notably, several countries have started imposing curbs on electricity usage and even shutdowns in many areas.
Meanwhile, energy giants like France’s Total Energies SE (TTE) (GB:0A30) and Norwegian oil giant Equinor ASA (EQNR) (GB:0A7F) are noting that exponential profits earned from the high oil and gas prices are helping them to support their clean and renewable energy projects.
Among all these issues, Musk’s comments on being pro-nuclear and the need to continue producing more oil and gas seem appropriate. Not that he devalues the world’s efforts in driving more renewable energy sources.
Needless to say, no country in the world is currently self-sufficient regarding sustainable energy resources. Hence, Musk insists that we must continue to produce more oil and gas to curb the inflationary pressures from its shortage while simultaneously directing efforts to reach a sustainable energy economy in the long run.
Musk, at his end, is trying to make America cleaner and greener with his EV-friendly company Tesla. Tesla remains one of the bestselling EVs in the U.S. The company is making every effort to ramp up production to meet the burgeoning demand. Tesla also owns SolarCity, a company that supplies solar roof panels for residential, commercial, and industrial customers across the U.S.
Also, Musk owns SpaceX, an American aerospace company. SpaceX also operates Starlink, a satellite internet constellation that provides satellite internet access to 39 countries.
Is it Good to Buy Tesla Stock Now?
Thanks to CEO Elon Musk, Tesla is always in the news, often for the wrong reasons. Tesla had a three-for-one stock split last week, which was not met with much enthusiasm. Now may not be a good time to buy Tesla stock.
Musk’s courtroom battle with social media site Twitter (TWTR) also keeps affecting its stock price. Recently, Musk’s legal team issued a subpoena to Twitter’s ex-security chief Peiter Zatko amid whistleblower complaints. The company seeks documents and communications from Zatko, which may prove that Twitter has indeed misled Musk in its reporting of spam/bots on its platform. Zatko even alleges security vulnerabilities at Twitter, which when confronted were ignored by CEO Parag Agrawal.
On the other hand, Tesla has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana for restricting the EV maker’s efforts to sell autos directly to consumers. A Louisiana law requires automakers to sell vehicles only through dealers. Tesla alleges that the law has been colluded by the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association, multiple officials on the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission, and some dealerships in the state with ulterior motives. Tesla hopes to win the case and sell cars directly to customers, as it previously won a similar suit in Michigan in 2016.
Wall Street analysts also remain split on TSLA stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating. This is based on 19 Buys, five Holds, and six Sells. The average Tesla price target of $314.58 implies 10.5% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, the stock has lost 28.8% so far this year.
