Reuters

Oil and gas should not be demonised in the medium-term, Elon Musk, the founder of electric car maker Tesla, said on Saturday, but he also said it was important to reduce carbon emissions to preserve the planet.

Musk, speaking at a right-wing political gathering organised by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni`s Brothers of Italy party said: "Climate change alarm is exaggerated in the short term," adding that the environmental movement may have gone too far, causing people to lose faith in the future.

At this month`s COP28 climate summit, representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age.

Musk said he considers himself an environmentalist and added that it is important that, in the long run, industries reduce the billions of tons of carbon they take from the earth and release into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.

"We should not demonise oil and gas in the medium term," he added.

Asked whether his companies would invest in Italy, Musk said he was worried about the country`s declining birth rate.