It may not be apparent to many, but the race towards a greener alternative to petroleum and diesel powered cars is not one of rainbows and sunshine – unless you’re talking about solar powered alternatives, in which case, there is some sunshine involved. The move towards environmentally-friendly solutions may be associated with hippie movements, but real progress wasn’t achieved until businesses started taking it seriously. And when there’s money involved businesses have to stand behind their product 100%, often berating the competition in the process.
Back in late 2013, Elon Musk, who heads Tesla Motors, took a stand against Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV), saying they were “so bullshit”. Musk’s own products use nothing but electricity, which many view as a step backward from petroleum fuel due to the difference in time it takes to recharge batteries versus refilling a vehicle with petrol. While Tesla overcame some of the other issues pertaining to range, the problem of charge time never really went away. As a result, hydrogen fuel remains a viable alternative for some of the bigger names in the industry to try out.
The biggest name in the industry, Toyota, decided to go ahead with an FCV of their own, the Mirai. And in what could be the longest delayed response in the history of comebacks, released an unofficial response to Musk’s comments.
Despite the poor timing, it’s nice to see that Toyota took the slightly humorous path in its reply. Here is their explanation of how FCVs can indeed be fuelled by Bullsh*t. We apologise for the language.
