After recently making headlines for his comments on womanhood, Elon Musk has once again stirred the internet, this time with a blunt take on the future of clean energy. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has taken a jab at nuclear power, calling it inefficient compared to solar energy.
In a viral post on X, Musk dismissed the global obsession with building nuclear fusion reactors on Earth, calling the idea "super dumb." He argued that instead of chasing complex nuclear solutions, humanity should focus on harnessing solar energy, the very source that powers our entire planet naturally.
He argued that humanity is ignoring the most powerful fusion reactor already available, the Sun.
"The Sun is an enormous, free fusion reactor in the sky. It's super dumb to make tiny fusion reactors on Earth," Musk wrote on X. He added, "Even if you burned four Jupiters, the Sun would still account for nearly 100% of all power ever produced in the solar system. Stop wasting money on puny little reactors - unless you're openly admitting they're just science experiments."
The Sun is an enormous, free fusion reactor in the sky. It is super dumb to make tiny fusion reactors on Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2025
Even if you burned 4 Jupiters, the Sun would still round up to 100% of all power that will ever be produced in the solar system!!
Stop wasting money on puny little…
At the heart of Musk's argument is the idea that solar power is vastly underused. He views it as the most abundant, clean, and logical alternative to fossil fuels. His blunt remarks, telling governments and companies to quit investing in miniature fusion projects unless they're labelled as experimental, quickly gained massive attention online, sparking fresh discussions on the direction of global energy policy. Several users responded critically to Elon Musk's remarks on nuclear energy.
One pointed out that engineering prioritizes controllable, scalable energy sources, and fusion reactors provide reliable, dispatchable power without needing orbital infrastructure-unlike solar, which relies on perfect conditions.
Another user argued that if sunlight were a weapon, humanity would have harnessed solar power centuries ago, noting that just 1/10,000th of the solar energy hitting Earth could meet all global energy needs.
A third commenter disagreed with Musk outright, stating that if we master fusion on Earth, it could provide near-limitless, clean energy-offering stable, grid-connected base load power around the clock, independent of weather.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk on Monday became the first person ever worth $600 billion, Forbes said, on the heels of reports that his SpaceX startup was likely to go public at a valuation of $800 billion.
Musk, who was the first to surpass $500 billion in net worth in October, owns an estimated 42% stake in SpaceX, which is preparing to go public next year, Reuters reported last week.
The SpaceX valuation would strengthen Musk's wealth by $168 billion to an estimated $677 billion as of 12 p.m. ET on Monday, according to Forbes.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
