Tesla CEO Elon Musk urged the United States to increase its oil and gas production following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite the negative impact on his company.
“Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures,” Musk tweeted on Friday.
“Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports,” he added.
Several Republicans responded to Musk, echoing their agreement.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) tweeted in response.
“America is funding Russia’s war by buying Russian oil and gas rather than producing our own,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) also tweeted.
The tweets come against the backdrop of a bipartisan group of lawmakers signaling support for a ban on oil and energy imports from Russia. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday that while she did not want the prices of gas to go up, she did support blocking oil imports.
