Elon Musk Slams California Government for 'Bizarre Move'
The Tesla CEO spoke out against a new proposal for fees on solar-powered systems.
By Emily Rella •
Not on Elon Musk's (probably solar-powered) watch!
The Tesla CEO voiced his opinion on a new solar tax being proposed by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
According to the Tesla Silicon Valley Club, the new proposal (dubbed NEM 3.0) would slam customers with a "grid access" fee that would cost them $8 per kW of installed solar each month, on top of other extraneous fees that could add up to an additional $80 per customer per month.
"If adopted, this would be the highest solar fee anywhere in the country, including states hostile to renewable energy," the club said in its petition against the proposal. "In addition, the proposal would reduce the value of bill credits for solar energy sent to the grid by about 80 percent."
Related: Elon Musk's Tantrums Are Detailed in New Tesla Book
The new proposal would also affect existing customers, who would be given a 15-year grandfather period before they are switched to NEM 3.0 rules and fees. The contracts they originally signed guaranteed a 20-year period, which "violates basic principles of fairness," according to TSVC.
The club tweeted out a petition this week to get residents and Tesla fans to help stop the proposal from being passed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Musk then retweeted the petition link and boldly wrote alongside it "Bizarre anti-environment move by govt of California" in a Tweet that has since garnered more than 61,000 likes.
Bizarre anti-environment move by govt of California https://t.co/1OwdBNWbxT
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2022
The billionaire, whose entire MO is electric vehicles and solar-powered energy, was understandably aggravated by the potential increase in pricing to use such modes of energy, something that would inevitably affect Tesla down the line in the state of California as the company sells and operates solar roofing and panels.
Just last week Tesla announced that it would be invoking a 20% price hike on its self-driving software that will go into effect on January 17, noting that monthly subscription prices are also set to go up in the U.S.
Tesla was up 26.47% year over year as of Thursday morning.
Related: Tesla's Full Self-Driving Software Is Getting a 20% Price Hike
