Assessing Elon Musk’s Vision and Business Practices in Relation to Sustainability

October 28, 2024October 28, 2024 Discipline: Environmental science

To his supporters, Elon Musk (entrepreneur and co-founder of multiple companies — i.e. PayPal, Tesla, OpenAI) is a genius visionary who harnesses technology and capitalism to bring about sustainability and to ultimately save humanity. In contrast, Musk’s detractors criticize his techno-optimism and business model and consider at least some of his projects to be misguided, dangerous and unsustainable. In a short analytical essay (700-1450 words) assess the vision/philosophy and business practices of Elon Musk in relation to sustainability.  Explain how you think Musk conceptualizes sustainability, and how his companies’ business practices relate to the values and approaches to sustainability we have been learning about in this course. The assignment is worth 20% of your final course grade.

This is not a persuasive essay. Your paper will likely slant one way or another, but you should not be focused on arguing for or against Elon Musk. Rather, try to understand how Musk conceptualizes sustainability (in theory) and how his business practices relate to the sustainability values and approaches discussed in this course, considering both the pros and the cons to Musk’s approach.

Your response should be written as an essay that uses APA-style or Chicago-style citations and the following format:

Introduction (approx. 100-200 words):

  • State your working definition of sustainability (be sure to properly cite all your ideas)
  • Explain in summary what you believe is Elon Musk’s conceptualization of sustainability
  • State how his (or his companies’) vision/philosophy and business practices relate to sustainability values and approaches.
  • Only a very brief introduction is needed (~3 sentences). Avoid overly broad introductory sentences and get right to the point.

Body Paragraphs (approx. 100-200 words each):

  • Your essay must consider all of the following (consider using different paragraphs for each):
    • Substantiate (with evidence, e.g., a reference) your opening claim about how Elon Musk (or his companies) conceptualize sustainability.
    • Draw on what you or others see as Elon Musk’s (or his companies’) major achievements within the realm of sustainability.
    • In what ways does Musk’s (or his companies’) technology-oriented approach to sustainability intersect with the other approaches to sustainability (state-driven, market-based, and grassroots).
    • How are (or aren’t) the values underlying sustainability (i.e., efficiency, democracy, social justice and the “good life”) reflected in Musk’s business ventures?
  • Consider using a body paragraph to elaborate on what you think are the most significant strengths/pros AND weaknesses/cons of Elon Musk’s vision/philosophy and business practices in relation to your definition of sustainability stated in your introduction.
  • There is no set number of body paragraphs required. Rather, each paragraph should express a single idea or argument. But remember to respect the word limit.
  • Each of your claims should be substantiated by using specific evidence (i.e., facts, references, logic). See the links below to help you find evidence.

Conclusion (approx. 100-250 words)

Your conclusion should do more than simply restate what you’ve already written. Here are some ideas for how to approach your conclusion:

  • Answer the question, “So what?” Why/should we care what Elon Musk thinks or does?
  • What are the short-/long-term implications or consequences (intended or unintended) of Musk’s vision and business practice for sustainability?
  • Comment on where you think Musk (or his companies’) vision and/or practices fall short in terms of your own definition of sustainability.

Please put the total word count of your essay after the last sentence of your conclusion (before the bibliography).

Bibliography (APA-style. Does not count towards word count)

Some questions to help with critical thinking

Some of the following questions might help you to start thinking critically about this topic. You may address some of these in your essay, but you will not have the word space to address all these questions. These questions are really intended to get you thinking.

  • Why is there interest from investors and governments in Musk’s companies but not other measures for realizing sustainability (e.g., building basic water and sanitation infrastructure that could save millions of lives each year)? Or significant investments in city buses that would immediately reduce congestion and vehicle emissions? Or energy conservation (insulating houses)?
  • Consider the full life cycle analysis of products/services being offered by Musk’s companies and the corresponding socio-ecological impacts/implications.
  • Is colonizing mars an appropriate goal for sustainability? Why is this not one of the SDGs?
  • How does SpaceX’s goal of space tourism relate to sustainability?
  • SpaceX’s main consumer (i.e., source of revenue) is the government and the U.S. Department of Defence in particular. Is the U.S.’s billions of dollars spent on military defence ethical given the fundamental sustainability problems facing the world?
  • How are the employees of Musk’s companies treated?

Your answer should draw on support from the course materials and external sources (suggestions below, but you may also find your own). Ensure you cite properly, as laid out in the general assignment instructions. 

External resources you may find helpful in composing your response:

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