Perhaps its cars automatically run down people of the wrong colour? Or its batteries will only charge if you put a white hood over the socket? It is hard to know what exactly the green energy tycoon Dale Vince is thinking by comparing Tesla to the Ku Klux Klan. The comparison is so ridiculously over-the-top, it suggests that Vince has something else in mind. He is terrified of Elon Musk’s company giving him some real competition in the British market – and instead of competing on price or service is trying to block him from the market instead.

Tesla has applied to Ofgem for an electricity supply licence that will allow it to sell power directly to people’s homes. It will be competing with giants such as British Gas, and of course Vince’s own company, Ecotricity. It is hard to see what is

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