Bill O'Reilly: Don’t hate Tesla Motors just because environmentalists are dumb

After mocking NBC's Brian Williams for warning about climate change, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on Monday night implored his fellow conservatives not to dismiss the all-electric car company Tesla Motors.

"I will give you one concrete thing that all responsible people should be rooting for," he said on his show. "On '60 Minutes' last night, they reported on the Tesla electric car, which is a game changer. The car runs extremely well, looks good, doesn't use gas, no gas at all. Now that car in the next few years could be available to millions, at a decent price."

"So everybody on the planet should be rooting for Tesla," O'Reilly continued. "I mean everybody, even the traditional car companies that will have to compete. If Tesla can make a clean car, the entire automotive industry can. Therefore the air would be cleaner everywhere, and our wallets thicker. So let's get on it people."

"But there will be resistance. Many conservatives don't believe in global warming, and oppose alternative energy. I hope you guys rethink the energy part. I agree many in the green lobby are self-righteous, arrogant, and dumb. But we'd all be better off if clean, cheap energy becomes the norm. And that's the truth."

Conservatives have attacked Tesla Motors because the California-based automaker received $465 million from the U.S. Energy Department's clean-energy loan program. Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin both have described Tesla as "losers" that wasted taxpayer money.

Tesla paid off its Energy Department loan in 2013, nine years earlier than required.

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