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Opinion
David Fickling

Elon Musk Should Come Clean: Tesla’s Emissions Are Rising

New operations in China and India will expand the EV pioneer’s carbon footprint. The company should be upfront about it for the sake of customers who care about climate change.

The grid makes a difference.

The grid makes a difference.

Photographer: Odin Jaeger/Bloomberg

At a time when most major companies are working on plans to cut their carbon emissions, one of the darlings of green investing is working to increase its emissions footprint. 

You read that right. Thanks to its explosive expansion in China and a planned car plant in India, Tesla Inc. is in the process of not just increasing the total sum of its emissions — a pretty inevitable consequence of growth in our current carbonized world — but increasing the amount of pollution each of its vehicles generates, too.