Will ‘Technoking’ Elon Musk Succeed in his Lobby to Increase Taxation on Petrol and Diesel?

The future of petrol and diesel investment might not be so rosy should ‘technoking’ Elon Musk succeed in his endeavors to lobby for increased taxation on fossil fuel. Musk’s Tesla lobbied UK to increase taxes on diesel and petrol vehicles in order to fund huge subsidies for electric vehicles, alongside a prohibition on hybrids.

According to a report published by the Guardian, the US electric car manufacturer called for an increase in fuel duty and a charge on diesel and petrol car acquisitions to fund tax breaks and grants. The proposal would automatically raise the cost of purchasing petrol or diesel cars, while reducing the cost of acquiring electric vehicles.

Musk has been a pioneer of fighting climate change by supporting zero-carbon emissions. He advocates for the penalization of using fossil-fuelled vehicles.

“Supporting zero-emissions vehicle uptake through mechanisms to make new fossil-fuelled cars pay for the damage they cause is entirely reasonable and logical,” Tesla stated last July. Musk’s massive production of electric cars aims to curtail carbon emissions from the transport sector.

Multiple researches indicate that transport sector contributes about 16 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. 

Despite being a climate activist, Tesla’s $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin has been largely criticized by environment activists because crypto currency’s high energy consumption is an impediment to the fight against climate change.