Elon Musk: A future worth getting excited about (TED 2022)

How are you?

Good.

How are you?

We're here at the Texas GigafactoryA very large factory that produces batteries or energy on a massive scale. the day before this thing opens.

It's been pretty crazyExtremely excited out there.

Thank you so much for making time on a busy day.

I would love you to help us, kind of, cast our minds—I don't know—10, 20, 30 years into the future.

And help us try to pictureTo form a mental image of something what it would take to build a future that's worth getting excited about.

The last time you spoke at TED, you said that that was really just a big driverA factor that causes something to happen or motivates someone to act..

You know, you can talk about lots of other reasons to do the work you're doing, but fundamentallyIn a basic way, you want to think about the future and not think that it sucks.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think in general, you know, there's a lot of discussion of like, this problem or that problem.

And a lot of people are sad about the future, and they're...

PessimisticTending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen..

And I think...

This is...

This is not great.

I mean, we really want to wake up in the morning and look forward to the future.

We want to be excited about what's going to happen.

And life cannot simplyUsed to emphasize that something is only what is stated and nothing more. be about sort of solving one miserable problem after another.

So if you look forward 30 years, you know, the year 2050 has been labeledTo describe someone or something in a particular way by scientists as this kind of almost like this doomsday deadline on climate.

There's a consensusA general agreement among a group of people. of scientists—a large consensusA general agreement among a group of people. of scientists—who believe that if we haven't completely eliminated greenhouse gases or offsetTo balance or counteract something them completely by 2050, effectively we're inviting climate catastrophe.

Do you believe there is a pathwayA way or route to achieve something to avoid that catastrophe?

And what would it look like?

Yeah, so I am not one of the doomsday people, which may surprise you.

I actually think we're on a good path.

But at the same time, I want to caution against complacencyA feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements..

So, so long as we are not complacent, as long as we have a high sense of urgencyThe need for immediate action or attention about moving towards a sustainable energy economy, then I think things will be fine.

So I can't emphasize that enough: as long as we push hard and are not complacent, the future is going to be great.