The comments came during an appearance at The B Word Conference, which was focused on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. During a panel, Square Crypto lead Steve Lee asked Musk what the energy-intensive bitcoin industry can do "to accelerate the transition to renewable energy" and "could Tesla Energy play a role?"
Musk replied, "Well, I think Tesla can play a role."
Then, the 50-year-old CEO broke into a reflective moment, implying that Tesla's entire reason for existence was to transition the world to clean energy.
"I would say I've had some pretty tough life experiences and Tesla's probably responsible for two-thirds of all personal and professional pain combined to give you a sense of perspective there."