Elon Musk has registered his support for President Trumps pick for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon Mobil.
Yesterday, Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and proponent of sustainable and smart living, tweeted that he believed the former head of one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world has the potential to be a worthy Secretary of State in President Trump’s new cabinet.
Musk tweeted: “This may sound surprising coming from me, but I agree with The Economist. Rex Tillerson has the potential to be an excellent Sec of State.”
“Rex Tillerson supports a carbon tax. This is what is really needed to move the needle.”
The news seems especially surprising as, the now President, Trump once said: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
In an interview with Gizmodo Musk defended his position and said: “Tillerson obviously did a competent job running Exxon, one of the largest companies in the world. In that role, he was obligated to advance the cause of Exxon and did. In the Sec of State role, he is obligated to advance the cause of the US and I suspect he probably will.”
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During Tillerson’s confirmation hearing, the former oil magnate said: “I think it’s important that the United States maintain its seat at the table in the conversation on how to address threats of climate change. They do require a global response.”
Since the 45th President took office all mentions of combating climate change have been removed from the White House website, as well as the EPA, National Park Service and the Forest Service being informed they could no longer divulge climate facts with the public.
Elon Musk defended these clearly contradictory stances and said: “This is something we need to strive for and the more voices of reason that the President hears, the better. Simply attacking him will achieve nothing. Are you aware of a single case where Trump bowed to protests or media attacks?”
