Electric car company Tesla is primarily known for its head-first forays into conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gases.
The first major carmaker to manufacture all-electric vehicles on a large, single-focus scale, Tesla (TSLA) has set the pace for how and what global consumers want in an eco-friendly vehicle.
Thus far, their attempts to save the Earth's air have gone far beyond anything any other major corporation has even attempted.
According to Tesla’s recent Impact survey, their rechargeable electric vehicles saved 8.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, as a result of further refinements and improvements.
The company's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has been up front about how important the company's remit is for him personally.
He has reiterated over and over that without a planet that is actively being protected, other business objectives and life issues don't matter.
“This supersedes political parties, race, creed, religion, it doesn’t matter. If we do not solve the environment, we’re all damned,” Musk told tech guru Kara Swisher in an interview with Recode in 2018.
Now the company is trying something new, and it has come after several major protests at its Gigafactories have forced the company to reexamine how it uses water.
How Will Tesla Conserve Major Resources?
Tesla’s recent Impact survey now has some news on how else the company is trying to save the planet.
In addition to cutting down on waste, Tesla is also eyeing its water consumption.
”We are planning to capture at least 25% of roof runoff (1 million square feet) to a central underground storage system within Gigafactory Texas," it said.
"Rainwater will be recycled for use in the cooling of manufacturing equipment. In an average year, such systems should save an estimated 7.5 million gallons of potable city water.”
The company is continuing to improve its factories and production facilities to cut down on waste.
It even predicted it could eventually take all of the carbon usage out of its manufacturing process.
“It is possible to fully decarbonize the manufacturing and use of EVs,” it said.
Elon Musk's Mission
That Musk has a passion for conserving the planet is clear in nearly every interview he does.
Leonardo DiCaprio's 2016 film "Before the Flood," a joint venture with National Geographic, saw DiCaprio traveling as United Nations Messenger of Peace in an effort to explain climate change.
In it, Musk presented what he thought the stakes are for humans hoping to survive on an increasingly stressed planet.
“The point of all this was, and remains, accelerating the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good. That's what 'sustainable' means. It's not some silly, hippy thing — it matters for everyone,” Musk said.
Tesla Can't Do it Alone, Musk Says
In that appearance, he said Tesla can't be the only company who takes conservation seriously.
Other major companies and entrepreneurs must also begin fighting for the Earth as well.
“Tesla can’t build 100 Gigafactories, so the thing that is really going to make the difference is if companies much larger than Tesla do the same thing," he said
"If the big industrial companies in China, the U.S., and Europe, and the big car companies," Musk said.
It will also take a major effort on the part of global regulators and governments to push forward policy that helps conservation efforts.
"If they also do this then collectively we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy," he said in the film. "And if the government set the rules to favor sustainable energy, we can get there really quickly.”
