Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been criticized from all sides lately, including allegations of spreading misinformation and environmental concerns related to his companies.
Some such as Heatmap have said Musk may have done more than any other person to make electric vehicles mainstream before "breaking bad" on climate, and part of that impression has been due to wasteful, planet-damaging behaviors, such as reported short-range flight paths on his private jet.
In a Reddit post to r/ElonJetTracker, one social media user shared an image of a map depicting an extremely short flight tracked on his jet.
The OP wrote in the caption, "Landed in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States. Apx. flt. time 19 min."
By pretty much any standard, most reasonable people would consider a 19-minute flight wasteful, especially considering, as one Redditor said, the flight would have only been replacing a drive of about an hour, so driving to the airport and going through takeoff and landing procedures likely added enough to those 19 minutes to render the time savings negligible at best.
The OP wrote in the comments that the flight still used a lot of fuel, by their estimates based on the available flight info: "~ 160 gallons (606 liters). ~ 1,073 lbs (487 kg) of jet fuel used. ~ $896 cost of fuel. ~ 2 tons of CO2 emissions."
(It's worth noting that the carbon emissions are higher than the weight of fuel used because, as one Redditor noted, the combustion process effectively takes oxygen out of the air to attach it to the carbon from the hydrocarbon fuel. So the primary byproducts are water and carbon dioxide, with the oxygen coming from the air rather than the fuel itself. Thus, burning fuel does not just add carbon dioxide to the air but also takes "unattached" oxygen out of it.)
Unfortunately, it's not just Musk's billions of dollars that fund private jet flights that create excessive air pollution while using vast amounts of resources.
Many billionaires spend millions on private jets for convenience and as a status symbol, with little regard for the environmental harm they are causing. Yet, flight data shows that Elon Musk is one of the top private jet users in the world, perpetuating the climate crisis with pollution-heavy travel.
Regardless of how much disposable income you have, private jets are a significant problem for our environment and work against sustainability goals.
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They're better than gas cars 🔌 Fortunately, aviation innovators are finding ways to revolutionize air travel, such as using human waste to produce jet fuel. Biofuels made from plants are emerging as promising alternatives to traditional jet fuels and a step toward cleaner, greener air travel.
Luxury travel doesn't need to devastate the planet. Many low-impact travel options curb resources while still allowing people to conduct business and see the world.
Unsurprisingly, Reddit users had their fair share of comments and opinions about Elon Musk's 19-minute flight to West Palm Beach.
Another Reddit user commented, "40 to 60 minute drive. Sickening."
"Couldn't even reach cruising altitude," someone else weighed in.
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