Tesla’s Bigger Problem; Copper Conflict Turns Bloody
And more about the human and environmental costs of renewable energy and digital technology —and how we can do better.
Tesla’s Bigger Problem
It’s bad enough for Tesla that Americans furious at Elon Musk’s disemboweling of the federal government are torching dealerships and charging stations across the country. What’s worse is that it is losing ground to its rivals. Once the best-selling EV in China—the world’s biggest market for electric vehicles—Tesla is now dropping behind. “Chinese drivers that once flocked to Tesla are turning more and more to local brands that offer more efficient cars with better technology, sometimes at half the price,” reports The New York Times. “Tesla’s biggest rival, the electric car giant BYD, sold 481,318 cars in the first two months of this year, over three quarters more than it did over the same period last year. Tesla sold 60,480 vehicles in the first two months of the year, a drop of 14 percent from last year.” Chinese cars are also cruising ahead in most non-Western countries.
Not only are BYD vehicles cheaper, they may soon recharge much faster. The company just announced a new charging system that it says can fill up a battery in just five minutes. That’s one-third of the time a Tesla Supercharger requires—if you can find one that hasn’t been set on fire.
Copper Conflict Turns Bloody in Peru
Informal miners attacked a multi-billion dollar copper exploration project in southern Peru earlier this week, injuring 20 workers and security guards. “Images circulated in social media showed the Los Chancas mining camp in flames, reminiscent of a 2022 incident in which the camp was burnt down,” reports Bloomberg. Peru is the world’s second biggest copper producer, and the world’s growing hunger for the red metal seems certain to continue causing problems there.
Details are scarce, but it seems the freelance miners are fighting back against a campaign to evict them, launched last year by US-based mine operator Southern Copper Corp. That company and its parent, Grupo Mexico, have a terrible reputation in the region, accused of heavy-handed responses to opponents and of causing a whole range of harms to people and the environment.
Plenty of Peruvians are fed up with the copper industry writ large. Protestors demanding a bigger share of revenues have shut down some of the country’s biggest copper mines in recent years, occasionally sparking lethal violence. With escalating demand (and Trump’s tariffs) driving copper prices to record highs, it’s easy to see their point.
Book News
I had a blast last week at the Tucson Festival of Books—the third biggest in the USA! In between checking out the zillions of book vendors and author talks, I was lucky enough to appear on a couple of panels with estimable fellow environmental authors Ed Humes, Rosanna Xia and Ernest Scheyder. You can see Ed, Rosanna and I with ace moderator Steve Goldstein here on C-SPAN’s BookTV.
More News Worth Knowing
🥇 US Solar and Wind Generate More Power Than Coal for First Time
🕋 Even Gulf Petro-States Acknowledge We Need Renewables
⛏️ Russian Nickel Oligarch Eyes Rare Earths
🌊 Deep Sea Miners Are Ready to Dig, Even If Enviro Rules Aren’t
Sorry for the slightly truncated newsletter this week. I’m busy getting ready for a week’s vacation! I won’t be publishing Power Metal next week—did I mention I’ll be on vacation?!