He is finally learning that he has to be somewhat careful in what he says.. ( he had learned that from his many tweets that have received plenty of backlash!) He has a plan, but does not want to really share it in a public forum where he will receive plenty of public judgement! Do we really know what goes on behind the scenes at Tesla or at SPACE X? So his “lazy“ answers are an attempt to provide some info without spilling the beans and receiving harsh judgment. He has to walk a fine line.
I don’t even think Elon realized how quickly popular his electric cars would become needed! He’s no dummy and knows he needs China and their minerals. He’s also no dummy and knows that there isn’t enough infrastructure and stability and mineral for all that the world “will truly need” if they are to go electric. But does he care? Yes but no! Sure he cares… but he also knows he needs the money and so he will keep making and selling cars as long as he can. It’s not technically his problem if the world is buying an unsustainable transporter. If they are buying.. he will be selling!
I can’t imagine Elon’s long term vision of the future of energy storage stops with current technologies dependent on rare earths. At some point things like graphene should break that dependence.
I’m constantly amazed at how many people project abject certainty about a topic having read nothing but social media and current “journalism” on the topic. I read books and studies and white papers all the time and am constantly aware of how little I know.