Better brands: What does Tesla sustainability look like?

Critics point to the dependency of electricity power generation on fossil fuels to operate. If you still need fossil fuels to charge up every week, are electric vehicles really more sustainable?

The push for renewable electricity

As Musk noted during Tesla’s Battery Day event this year, wind & solar now make up the majority of new electricity generation capacity in the US. Moreover, electricity from coal dropped to 17.7% this year, down from 50% in 2005.

As renewables account for more electricity, Tesla’s carbon footprint will decrease. And this trend is moving in Tesla’s favor. In 2020, the electric vehicle maker put out over one million vehicles.

Based on company sustainability reports, Tesla saved 3,623,138.53 tons of carbon from being emitted into our atmosphere.

This calculation uses the number of miles driven by Tesla cars and the amount of carbon emitted had those cars been gas guzzlers. The calculation did not take production into account. That is where I am most concerned.

I want to share this excerpt from a Forbes article in 2016 that I think did a good job comparing Tesla manufacturing to a traditional internal-combustion car:

[The Union of Concerned Scientists] found that the manufacturing of a full-sized Tesla Model S rear-wheel drive car with an 85 KWH battery was equivalent to a full-sized internal combustion car except for the battery, which added 15% or one metric ton of CO2 emissions to the total manufacturing.

However, they found that this was trivial compared to the emissions avoided due to not burning fossil fuels to move the car. Before anyone says “But electricity is generated from coal!”, they took that into account too, and it’s included in the 53% overall reduction.

Cobalt batteries are a problem

Tesla’s sustainability depends on a business model that is 1) profitable in the long-term and 2) upholds environmental/social standards. As part of Tesla’s business model, the automaker depends on cobalt batteries… for now.

Tesla announced earlier this year its intention to move away from lithium-ion batteries w/ cobalt and toward lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

This would be crucial in that it would remove scandal-ridden cobalt from the manufacturing process (more on that in a sec) and drive down the hefty price tag.

Lithium-ion batteries make up more than a quarter of Tesla’s sticker price. How can we praise a publicly traded car manufacturer for sustainability if only a small percentage of the market can afford it?

On average, electric vehicles are $12,000-19,000 more expensive than a traditional one. That’s worth more than my current hybrid car itself!

Tesla’s solar panels

It’s also important to note Tesla’s role in the household solar market, which falls under the Tesla umbrella. Tesla offers the cheapest prices for rooftop solar power systems. That is a feat worthy of praise.

While it is difficult to measure its direct impact on energy saving, offering an affordable household product that increases renewable energy is a plus. Solar panels come with their own set of criticisms, but that is for another discussion.

Transparency and ethics

Back to the lithium ion batteries. While Tesla plans to move away from their cobalt cousins, they are still in production. So we’ll leave this here.

Last year, Tesla was listed in connection to a major human rights scandal in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Apple, Google, Dell and Microsoft were also listed.

According to the Guardian, the lawsuit accuses the companies of “aiding and abetting in the death and serious injury of children who they claim were working in cobalt mines in their supply chain.”

Domestic worker conditions fail too

Tesla has a history of lawsuits and allegations that you can view here. But most of these issues deal with SEC regulators and other tedious hiccups. The most important theme ties to workers’ conditions.

Tesla acknowledged that its recordable incident rate (TRIR) exceeded the industry average from 2013-2016. Precise data was not released by the company.

Musk claims that workers’ conditions have since improved, but testimonies from ex-employees contradict that.

Jonathan Galescu, a production technician for the company, said, “I’ve seen people pass out, hit the floor like a pancake and smash their face open. They just send us to work around him while he’s still laying on the floor.”

Issues of overworking staff have been attributed to Tesla’s ambitious production goals. Musk insists their worker demands are within reason, but there is certainly evidence to suggest to contrary.

Not a good look when you have that much success on the back of a tired hard working staff.

Ongoing evaluation

I am always wary of major corporations that claim to be sustainable, or do-gooders. It appears that Tesla’s has ties to sustainability, but there isn’t even much information about environmental impact on their website.

Or if it’s there, it’s not easy to find. Tesla is not a sustainable company as it exists today.

There are a few cool developments in their manufacturing process that will drive the cost down and lessen their impact on conflict areas in places like the Congo.

I think as long as the company continues to strive for better business, they will be in good shape to drive toward sustainability goals.

If I had the choice to get a Tesla, I’d probably wait. I don’t see any difference between purchasing a Tesla versus a hybrid vehicle or lower-priced electric vehicle based on ethics and all sustainability factors accounted for.

Wait until Tesla removes cobalt, improves worker conditions and reduces vehicle prices to make an ethical purchase.