, Columnist
The Elon Musk of Climate Plans Gets a Test Drive
A $20 billion program to wean Indonesia off coal is a potential game changer for much bigger prizes, India and China. It must succeed or die trying.
Think of a Musk-level transformation in renewables versus coal.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Future generations may well remember Elon Musk for his self-destructive $44 billion Twitter Inc. takeover, his vile attack on a cave diver trying to rescue a junior soccer team, or his bizarre and troubling interventions in the Ukraine conflict.
There’s one solid feat that will be hard to take away from him, however. By building Tesla Inc. at a time few thought electric cars were remotely viable, he was a catalyst who transformed the global automotive industry as drastically as Henry Ford or Eiji Toyoda.