Musk said that the U.S. government should not provide subsidies to companies, but impose a carbon tax to discourage poor behavior.
The free market, in his view, would achieve the best solution, and producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should have consequences.
Tesla has received billions of dollars in subsidies.
In addition, Tesla made large sums from government-initiated systems of zero-emissions credits offered in California and at the United States federal level, which facilitated initial consumer adoption of Tesla vehicles
as the tax credits given by governments enabled Tesla's battery electric vehicles to be price-competitive, in comparison with existing lower-priced internal combustion engine vehicles.
Notably, Tesla generates some of its revenue from its sales of carbon credits granted to the company, by both the European Union Emissions Trading System and the Chinese national carbon trading scheme.
Musk, a longtime opponent of short-selling, has repeatedly criticized the practice and argued it should be illegal.
Wired magazine speculated that Musk's opposition to short-selling stems from how short sellers have an incentive to find and promote unfavorable information about his companies.
In early 2021, he encouraged the GameStop short squeeze.
In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion of his stock in Tesla, equal to 22 million shares in the company.