Before Elon Musk was a free speech meme lord beloved by the Right, he was first and foremost a scientist-cum-inventor beloved by the Left for his innovation in clean energy. Hence, both of the billionaire’s worlds collided when Musk tweeted his endorsement and explanation of a carbon tax as a solution to climate change.

As an Ivy-trained physicist now infamous for owning the largely privately controlled free speech platform X, Musk explains the causes and consequences quite cogently. He is correct and compelling in making the case that climate change is indeed an anthropogenic phenomenon and that its real costs will be widely disseminated if nothing is done. But a carbon tax is a woefully wrong solution to the very real problem of climate change.