An Australian miner's angry and profanity-laced rant about the decreasing use of coal has caught the attention of Elon Musk.
Musk, who is known for supporting climate-friendly initiatives gave brutal response to Gerry Noonan, a veteran expert in mining, whose previously recorded video went viral after it was reposted by a co-host of the Money of Mine podcast Travis Ricciardo.
In that video, Noonan expressed his concerns during an interview in which he criticized the ongoing global shift away from coal as a main source of energy.
Gerry, who founded his company Geotech in 1972, said in an interview with global mining equipment supplier Epiroc, "We have coal, because we have the biggest coal deposits in the world, but we're not allowed to burn the f***ing stuff, so the world's rooted, really."
"It's alright to be idealistic, but you have to be realistic. And until the lights go out, the idiots that want to be green on everything and not do mining and not do coal, not do anything, they're going to have to go back and use candles and live in tents. You might f***ing laugh, but it's true," he further remarked.
In response to these statements, Tesla's CEO took to X (formerly Twitter) and replied sarcastically by writing, "If he looks up, he will see something called 'The Sun'," to which Ricciardo responded, “Coal is ancient solar power, compressed over millions of years. A natural wonder that affords reliable energy when the sun goes down.”
He then described Mr Musk as “not an idiot, but he is a f***wit."
Australia's use of coal for generating electricity has dropped significantly, from almost 85% in 2008 to about 50% last year.
This change is mainly due to the lower coast of renewable energy sources, the ageing condition of coal plants and growing pressure to reduce carbon emissions to meet climate goals.
