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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk is no longer part of US president Donald Trump’s administration, having said goodbye to his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) role back in May, but that hasn’t stopped him from being critical of his former boss and his government – not least when it comes to the issue of technology.
Trump’s criticisms of renewable energy are well-documented, with perhaps the most recent and well-known example being his rants about windmills when he really means wind turbines.
But on Friday, his Department of Energy attacked wind and solar energy while sharing an article about Chris Wright, the energy secretary.
The Washington Examiner reported that Wright supported Trump’s recent remarks that wind and solar power are “the scam of the century”, saying that “the president’s comments are correct, but the situation is more complicated than that”.
And sharing the news article, the US Department of Energy claimed: “Wind and solar energy infrastructure is essentially worthless when it is dark outside, and the wind is not blowing.”
This has prompted many people to helpfully point out that a rather nifty object known as a battery exists:
“Quick, someone invent the battery,” commented Phoenix New Times journalist Zach Buchanan:
Another joked they “just sold my bed because I realized I’m awake for most of the day”:
“Hey geniuses… ever heard of batteries? They’re used to store energy. You should look into it, given that you are the Department of Energy,” wrote a third:
Journalist Mehdi Hasan slammed the “ignorant” people governing the country and said he is “genuinely not sure how the US ever recovers from this”:
And California governor Gavin Newsom’s press office waded into the ridicule too, writing that they were “excited for the Trump admin to learn about BATTERIES”:
As for Musk, the Tesla boss simply wrote “um… hello” and directed the government department to the work of his electric car company around energy storage systems:
Oh dear…
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