Elon Musk's unanswered energy plea to Trump

State of play: Musk said he's against vilifying the oil and gas industry, and noted that its products remain central to the energy system.

• "I think we should just generally, lean in the direction of sustainability," he said, and warned of risks from massive increases in atmospheric CO2.
• "I'm a big fan of, like, let's have an inspiring future, and let's work towards, you know, a better future and let's do so without demonizing people," Musk said.

Yes, but: Trump offered little reciprocation even when Musk cautiously discussed sustainability, though he did ask Musk about putting solar panels on EVs and said solar works in "certain areas."

• Then he quickly pivoted.
• "The one thing that I don't understand is that people talk about global warming, or they talk about climate change, but they never talk about nuclear warming," Trump said, using his unusual term for risks from nuclear weapons.

Trump also downplayed climate impacts, at one point drastically misstating projected sea-level rise on the low end, and then quipping "you'll have more oceanfront property, right?"

• "It's very interesting you use the word 'global warming,' and today they use the word 'climate change,' because, you know, you have some places that go up," Trump said. "So they were getting themselves in a little trouble with the word 'global warming,' because not every place is warming, some places are going the opposite direction."
• Trump's statement is at odds with scientists, who repeatedly say that the long-term trend shows continued warming.

Go deeper: NYT fact-check