Give the guy a break.

He can't save the planet, but he can show us how in one aspect.
He popularised the electric car, by making a desireable article in a land of egregiously rich people with money to waste. And moved on down the spectrum to more affordable ones (relatively). Without a hint of reproach for the profligate car drivers, he gave us a vision, and all other car manufacturers are promising to follow his lead.

He promised to build a 100 MW/129 MWh battery for New South Wales in 100 days. And did it. And got paid. Willingly.

He is adamant, the most sensible energy is solar (Wind & Hydro are solar BTW) and a lot of it needs to be stored temporarily. Batteries are not the only answer but given the market in transport, it transfers to may other areas.

He is a thinker. And his reward is being right. He was right about PayPal, he was right about Tesla.
Money just gives him the time to think. And I am sure he employs many people as clever as him.

He won't save the world on his own, but he greases the wheels, and he has a big pot of grease.