Elon Musk on why 'all energy generation will be solar'

Tesla founder Elon Musk has once again advocated in favor of solar energy.

In a tweet, Musk said, "Once you understand the Kardashev Scale, it becomes utterly obvious that essentially all energy generation will be solar."

The Kardashev Scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev (1932–2019) and was named after him, according to Wikipedia.


Musk stated that mathematical calculations prove how solar energy in a small area can power the entire U.S.

"Also, just do the math on solar on Earth, and you’ll soon figure out that a relatively small corner of Texas or New Mexico can easily serve all U.S. electricity. One square mile on the surface receives ~2.5 Gigawatts of solar energy. That’s Gigawatts with a 'G.' It’s ~30% higher in space. The Starlink global satellite network is entirely solar/battery powered," Musk said, adding, "Factoring in solar panel efficiency (25%), packing density (80%), and usable daylight hours (~6), a reasonable rule of thumb is 3 GWh of energy per square mile per day. Easy math, but almost no one does these basic calculations."


Musk has been confident about building a business around solar energy and runs Tesla's Solar division, which provides rooftop panels along with energy storage solutions.