October 2025: Elena Foukes is an entrepreneur, off-grid expert, herbalist, and mother. Over the past five years, she has lived off-grid in a van, on a catamaran, in the desert, and on a mountain—exploring the edges of decentralized living, health, and education. She is the author of Off-Grid and On Purpose (published February 2025), and a Venture Partner with the climatetech investing syndicate Climate Avengers. She also leads ClimateTechJobs Coaching, helping mid-career professionals transition into climate startups and the broader climatetech ecosystem. Before her off-grid adventures, Elena held leadership roles at Tesla, co-founded a climatetech startup, and was named to Forbes 30 Under 30. She has spoken at White House events, guest lectured at Stanford and UC Berkeley, and hosted the Climate Avengers Podcast. Originally from metro Detroit, Elena holds a master’s degree in International Economics with a focus on China and energy policy, and a certificate in Econometrics. Instagram LinkedIn Climate Avengers
February 2025: Elena is an entrepreneur, offgrid expert, herbalist, and mother. Over the past five years, she has lived off-grid in a van, catamaran, in the desert, and on a mountain. She has also dug deep into decentralized health and schooling. She is the author of “Off-Grid and On Purpose” published in February 2025. She is a Venture Partner with the climatetech investing syndicate Climate Avengers. She founded Earthriseguide.com (earthriseguide.com/), which publishes guides and offers coaching. Before her off-grid adventures, she was in leadership at Tesla, built a climatetech startup, was Forbes 30 Under 30, spoke at White House Events, and guest lectured at Stanford and Berkeley. She is from metro-Detroit. She has a maters degree in International Economics with a focus on China and energy policy, and a certificate in Econometrics. She was the host of the Climate Avengers Podcast.
I am an entrepreneur, climate optimist, and light worker. I’m an offgrid guide - I help people figure out how they want to exit the matrix and how to start planning to live, a little or a lot, off-grid.
I live offgrid on 100+ acres. I travel. I listen.
I like plants that heal. I like working with them.
I’m listening to the land, and deconstructing my programming from the oversociety.
I have always worked in climate, and from my perspective, I still do. I’m concerned about the people who work in climate and are burning out. Yes, the world is burning, yet we must nurture ourselves so we can continue the good work.
What that has meant for me is that I am listening and feeling through my heart instead of thinking through my mind. This includes identifying and disconnecting from hierarchies and often mainstream narratives. I’m becoming more aware of the pain that people and the land are in and acknowledging the systems and structures, such a patriarchy and colonialism, and manifest destiny, and deconstructing them.
Practically, this meant that I quit Tesla. I live on a basalt flowing butte an hour north of Mt. Shasta. I’ve lived offgrid in the desert, on a catamaran, and on this butte.
I have been through layers of darkness, valleys, dark nights of the soul.
You may have pain in your heart. You may have pain that you don’t know where it’s coming from. I’ve been there. I’m still working through things, yet I’m much more conscious of it now. This is part of being human. You are never alone.
January 2023
I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
I knew I had to find a way to make money and save the world at the same time. I’ve been working on climate solutions my whole life, including EVs, solar, batteries, and data.
More about me:
Former operations lead at Tesla
(Elon told me “good job”)
Founder and CEO, UtilityAPI
Climate career coach
In grad school in 2012, I wrote a paper on EVs in China. In 2019, I led the material flow engineering planning for Tesla’s Shanghai factory. I also launched an inventory control tool on the ground in the Shanghai factory.
The tide has changed for EVs. I am part of that.
My memoir would be a combination of Eat-Pray-Love, Hillbilly Elegy, and Lean In.
