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6 7 So even before Irma,Tesla had long seen the Ca- ribbean as a nexus for its energy revolution,with talk of using electric-vehicle batteries to store renewable energy.The idea is that vehicles can charge during the daywhen the sun is high andwinds are stronger,and then owners can sell excess electricityback to the grid when demand is high but supplies aremuch lower. Tesla’s desire to power the Caribbean reflects a global energy race as tech companies–among themSam- sung and LG–expand their international reach. The British businessmagnate,Sir Richard Branson, who owns a 30-hectare private island in the BritishVir- gin Islands,has also long advocated that the Caribbean should shift to clean energy.The 2017hurricane sea- son catalyzed this ambition.After Irma,Branson sug- gested that rich countries fund a“CaribbeanMarshall Plan”to help islandsmove beyond fossil fuels toward low-carbon renewable energy sources like solar and wind.Hurricane Irma left the solar-powered systemon his Necker Island,located roughlyninemiles from the OPENING LINES ravagedTortola,relatively intact. Branson isn’t the only international celebritywith a personal stake in rebuilding the Caribbean region. The actor Robert DeNiro has also sought to pitch in. In September,he said hewas“saddened to learn of the devastation in Barbuda,”and called on financial insti- tutions and governments to band together and rebuild the demolished island,where DeNiro had hoped to build a $200million resort. Twomonths later,Barbuda remains uninhabitable, with nearly its entire population having evacuated to neighboringAntigua and elsewhere.Locals wonder whether Barbudawill ever be home to anyone again, much less the paradise tourist destinationDeNiro once envisioned. For China,the crisis in the Caribbean is an opportu- nity to expand its influence in an areawhere it already has deep historic and economic ties.China’s influence in the Caribbean dates back to Cuba’s 1959 revolution, when communismbound the two nations.Back then,