Elon Musk threatens to break up with Trump over Paris climate deal

Tesla CEO Elon Musk today threatened to leave Donald Trump’s advisory council if the administration withdraws from the Paris Agreement.

Don't know which way Paris will go, but I've done all I can to advise directly to POTUS, through others in WH & via councils, that we remain

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2017

Will have no choice but to depart councils in that case

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 31, 2017

The deal, a cornerstone agreement reached by the Obama administration, was negotiated and agreed upon by 195 (ratified by 147) countries in 2015. It went into effect in November of last year. Per terms of the agreement, participants are to phase out fossil fuels and adopt clean energy practices in an attempt to stop the planet from warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

If Trump pulls the plug, which seems increasingly likely, the US would join Syria and Nicaragua as the only three recognized nations to pull out of the agreement. For context, this would mean The United States would actually be taking a more backwards stance on climate change than North Korea, which agreed to the accord.

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It’s not exactly good company. And Musk, for his part, wants no part of it.

Musk currently sits on two of Trump’s councils: an economic advisory board, and the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative. His involvement has led some Model 3 owners to cancel orders before taking delivery as a form of protest.

Musk claims his participation in no ways signifies agreement with the current administration, and agreed to stay on in an advisory capacity.