Tesla, a not so green car

As mentioned in my previous post, gasoline powered cars play a large role in climate issues. Cars release a lot of harmful pollutants and carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Elon Musk’s Tesla was the first company to introduce electric cars to the world. The idea of a non-gasoline powered, zero emission vehicle was meant to catch people’s attention and reduce the harmful impact we have on the environment. 

Although having promising qualities, Tesla still is by no means an environmentally friendly vehicle.

Teslas and all electric cars require a lithium-ion battery. The only way to get lithium is by mining it. Mining for lithium is very destructive and tears up the earth. Not only do you have to destroy a lot of earth to get very little lithium, but some mining processes consist of dumping toxic chemicals into the environment.

The melting of the lithium itself releases harmful emissions. The putting together of the vehicle is not a clean process.

Being an electric car, people tend to overlook where the energy comes from. The assumption that the energy must be clean because it does not come from combustion of gasoline is incorrect. The energy is usually sourced from a local power plant, more than likely including the use of fossil fuel combustion. 

Yes, Tesla’s are better for the environment in comparison to gasoline powered cars, but they are not necessarily environmentally friendly. In order to achieve this title, vehicles must steer away from fossil fuels completely.