Elon Musk
Musk says German election could ‘decide fate of the world’ at AfD event
Elon Musk spoke at a campaign event for Germany’s controversial Alternative für Deutschland, or Alternative for Germany (AfD), party over the weekend, ahead of an upcoming election in the country next month.
On Saturday, AfD candidate Alice Weidel posted a video broadcast of the event on X, which included a roughly-ten-minute speech from Musk, following his appointment last week as an advisor for newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump. The AfD, which advocates for German nationalism, halting immigration into the country, preserving German culture and other related topics, has drawn concern and been called a far-right populist party by some critics.
The appearance comes ahead of a German election being held on February 23, which Musk says could “decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world.” During the speech, he also spoke about preserving German culture and the removal of bureaucracy from Brussels, along with being affirmed by Weidel and the audience about the recent election of Trump, who has advocated for similar deregulatory and anti-immigration policies.
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You can see the full broadcast from Alice Weidel on X below with Musk’s speech starting around two and a half hours in, or you can read the full transcript below that.
Mega-Wahlkampfauftakt mit Alice Weidel live aus Halle! https://t.co/eHzMOShPHR
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) January 25, 2025
Musk: Can you hear me? Okay, yes, unfortunately, I can’t hear you very well.
Wow, hello, everyone. I hope you can hear me well, the audio I’m hearing from my side is… I can’t hear you. So hopefully this, this is coming through. Please, please confirm that this you can hear me. Okay. I don’t know, raise your hand or something. Okay. All good. Okay, great.
Well, first of all, I wanted to really say that I’m very excited for the AfD and I think, I think you’re really the best hope for Germany. I think some things that… something I think that is just very important is that people take pride in Germany, and being German, this is very important. It’s, you know, it’s okay to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.
It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything. I think we want to have unique cultures in the world. We want to have people that have… we don’t want everything to be the same everywhere, where it’s just one big sort of soup, you know, we want to have something where it’s… you go to different countries and you experience a different culture, and it is unique and special and good and that the German government takes actions to protect its citizens, and make sure that it seeks the health and well-being of the German people.
The German people are sort of, really an ancient nation. It goes back thousands of years. Read Julius Caesar’s account of, like, first encountering the German tribes in the Gallic campaigns. And he was like, “Very impressive. These are very, very powerful warriors.”
I think there’s, like, frankly, too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even, let alone their parents, their great grandparents, maybe even. And we should be optimistic and excited about a future for Germany.
That’s really what it is, to be excited, to be optimistic about the future, to preserve German culture and protect the German people. And you know, there are some other things that I think would be very helpful too, which is that, I think you want more self-determination for Germany and for the countries in Europe, and less from Brussels.
That’s my opinion. I think there’s too much bureaucracy from Brussels, too much control from sort of global elite. And you know, when I’ve given talks at these sort of global government conferences, what I’ve said is there should be “less global government, there should be more determination by individual countries.”
And so I very much hope that the AfD does well, and that Alice Weidel does become a chancellor. I think that would be very good for Germany, and I think it’s very important. I hope the German people unite and strongly support AfD.
You’re doing the right thing, is what I’m saying.
Let’s go guys, let’s go! Fight for a great future for Germany! Fight for a great future for Germany! Go go go, convince your friends, convince everyone, let’s go!
Get excited about the future, and if you want to make the future great, if you want the future to be great, you need to make it great, and fight for the future to be great. That’s how it becomes great.
Weidel: Let me try one thing, and I hope you can hear me. No, you can’t?
Musk: No, I think I can hear you now.
Weidel: Okay, yes, good. Entire audience, we wish you, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, all the best to make America great again. You’re the best. God’s blessing.
Musk: Exactly. I mean, I think we should fight for an exciting, bright future where people can be optimistic about what’s going to happen, where you wake up and you look forward to the future. And the best way to… ensure the future is good, you have to fight for a good future every day, and it will be great, and we’ll have a very exciting, wonderful future so…
I think this election coming up in Germany is incredibly important. I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world. That is the significance of this election. So that’s why it’s very important to talk to your friends and family and convince them to consider voting for AfD and then, and just go with it like a chain reaction, convince one friend, talk to another friend, and say “Hey guys, do you want more of the last ten years, or do you want something different?”
And I think the people in Germany want something different, and if you want something different, you have to vote for a different party. This is just a fact. This is logic.
So you are the future of Germany. Make it happen, but I can’t emphasize enough: go out there, talk to people, convince people, one vote at a time, there’s a need for change. It’s got to be done. And this election is so important, it’s extremely important. I do not say it lightly when I think the future of civilization could hang on this election.
So when something is so important, it’s you really need to say, “Okay, you’re going to go all out to convince people to vote for AfD.”
And you certainly… obviously you have my full support. I think the Trump administration is also supportive. So, you know, I think the policies that I’ve heard from AFD, they make a lot of sense.
They’re really just, it’s, you know… to me, when I look at the policies, they’re sort of, they’re common sense policies, and just like President Trump has common sense policies, getting things done, you know, getting the government out of people’s way so that you can get, you know, you can get things done, and giving people back personal freedom and protecting the people from dangers.
These are fundamental things that, frankly, the current government is not doing. Current government is suppressing speech very aggressively and really, when you suppress freedom of speech, it’s not it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to have a true democracy, because freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy.
People cannot be expected to vote in an informed manner if they are not able to know the truth. So, this is why it’s so important to have to have freedom of speech, so people can make an informed vote, and it can be a true democracy. But this is not what the current government has been doing. They have been suppressing freedom of speech and putting people in jail for even mild criticisms of politicians or social media posts. This is crazy. This is, this is, this is, frankly, a totalitarian approach. It is not a democratic approach.
So there needs to be… to restore freedom to the people of Germany and have freedom of speech and have less government oppression in general. So anyway, I think this is I can’t emphasize enough, go do everything you can, full blast. Put every effort you can into this election, this… the fate of the world, I think, rests upon this election in Germany. It’s extremely fundamental.
Everything you can, please go all out.
Weidel: Thank you, great. All the best for you, blessings.
Musk: Alright, and unfortunately, Alice, I can’t hear you. I wish I could hear you, but I can see the enthusiasm of the crowd. And… danke schoen. And, you know, go, go, go, fight, fight, fight.
Elon Musk’s past meetings with other world leaders and Donald Trump’s re-election
The speech follows Musk’s appearance at Trump’s inauguration earlier this week, during which the Tesla CEO performed what many said appeared to be a Nazi salute, which he later defended as a gesture meant to highlight his statement that his “heart goes out to all of you” after thanking the audience for helping to make Trump’s victory happen.
After the inauguration, Musk downplayed the gesture in a flurry of posts, including one on X, noting that he had apparently been called both a Zionist and a Nazi. In others, he reiterated his disdain for legacy media, adding that it would be “another nail in the coffin.”
“It was astonishing how insanely hard legacy media tried to cancel me for saying ‘my heart goes out to you’ and moving my hand from my heart to the audience,” Musk wrote in an additional post on X on Friday. “In the end, this deception will just be another nail in the coffin of legacy media.”
“Elon is a great friend of Israel,” Netanyahu wrote on X following the event. “He visited Israel after the October 7 massacre in which Hamas terrorists committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. He has since repeatedly and forcefully supported Israel’s right to defend itself against genocidal terrorists and regimes who seek to annihilate the one and only Jewish state. I thank him for this.”
Musk has also met with several world leaders over the past few years, even before his official endorsement of Trump last July. He has previously held meetings with Netanyahu and several others, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Argentina President Javier Milei, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, Hungary President Katalin Novák, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Namibia Dr. Nangolo Mbumba, Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, and several officials in China, among many others still.
Many of these conversations have included similar concerns about immigration, population collapse and the need for people to have more children, the civilizational risks of AI and ambitions to make humans multiplanetary by landing on Mars, among many other adjacent topics.
During campaign events leading up to the November election, Musk used similar language to his January speech for the AfD, noting that “President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution” and “democracy,” and saying that it would “be the last election” if voters didn’t encourage others to register to vote.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Elon Musk talks AI, birth rates and more at Italian conference
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Elon Musk
Tesla ramps Cybercab test manufacturing ahead of mass production
Tesla still has plans for volume production, which remains between four and eight weeks away, aligning with Musk’s statements that early ramps would be deliberately measured given the Cybercab’s novel architecture and full reliance on Tesla’s vision-based Full Self-Driving technology.
Tesla is seemingly ramping Cybercab test manufacturing ahead of mass production, which is scheduled to begin next month, the company said.
At Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, production of the Cybercab, the company’s groundbreaking purpose-built Robotaxi vehicle, is accelerating markedly. Drone footage from Joe Tegtmeyer captured striking aerial footage today, revealing what appears to be the largest public sighting of Cyebrcabs to date.
A total of 25 units were observed by Tegtmeyer across the Gigafactory Texas property, marking a clear step-up in testing and validation activities as Tesla prepares for a broader output.
Tesla Cybercab production begins: The end of car ownership as we know it?
In the footage, 14 metallic gold Cybercabs were parked in a tight formation outside the factory exit, showcasing their sleek, autonomous-only design with no steering wheels, pedals, or traditional controls. Another 9 units sat at the crash testing facility, likely undergoing structural and safety validations, while two more appeared at the west end-of-line area for final checks.
Big day for Cybercab at Giga Texas today! Actually, yesterday to kick off March, the production line went into a higher volume & today we see 25 at three main locations, and there were several others I observed driving around too!
I think this may be the largest single grouping… pic.twitter.com/HZDMNv57lJ
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) March 3, 2026
Tegtmeyer noted additional Cybercabs driving around the complex, hinting at active movement and real-world testing beyond static parking.
This surge follows the first production Cybercab rolling off the line in mid-February 2026, several weeks ahead of the originally anticipated April start.
That milestone, celebrated by Tesla employees and confirmed by CEO Elon Musk, kicked off low-volume builds on the dedicated “unboxed” manufacturing line, a modular process designed to slash costs, reduce factory footprint, and enable faster assembly compared to conventional methods.
Industry observers interpret the jump to dozens of visible units in early March as evidence that Tesla has transitioned into higher-volume test manufacturing.
Tesla still has plans for volume production, which remains between four and eight weeks away, aligning with Musk’s statements that early ramps would be deliberately measured given the Cybercab’s novel architecture and full reliance on Tesla’s vision-based Full Self-Driving technology.
The Cybercab, envisioned as a sub-$30,000 autonomous two-seater for robotaxi fleets, represents Tesla’s bold pivot toward scalable autonomy and robotics.
Tesla fans and enthusiasts on X praised the imagery, with many expressing excitement over the visible progress toward deployment. While challenges remain, including software maturity, regulatory hurdles, and supply chain scaling, the increased factory activity underscores Tesla’s momentum in turning the Cybercab vision into reality.
As Giga Texas continues expanding and refining the manufacturing process of the Cybercab, the coming months will prove to be a pivotal time in determining how quickly this revolutionary vehicle reaches roads in the U.S. and internationally.
Elon Musk
SpaceX to launch Starlink V2 satellites on Starship starting 2027
The update was shared by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Starlink Vice President Mike Nicolls.
SpaceX is looking to start launching its next-generation Starlink V2 satellites in mid-2027 using Starship.
The update was shared by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Starlink Vice President Mike Nicolls during remarks at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.
“With Starship, we’ll be able to deploy the constellation very quickly,” Nicolls stated. “Our goal is to deploy a constellation capable of providing global and contiguous coverage within six months, and that’s roughly 1,200 satellites.”
Nicolls added that once Starship is operational, it will be capable of launching approximately 50 of the larger, more powerful Starlink satellites at a time, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
The initial deployment of roughly 1,200 next-generation satellites is intended to establish global and contiguous coverage. After that phase, SpaceX plans to continue expanding the system to reach “truly global coverage, including the polar regions,” Nicolls said.
Currently, all Starlink satellites are launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The next-generation fleet will rely on Starship, which remains in development following a series of test flights in 2025. SpaceX is targeting its next Starship test flight, featuring an upgraded version of the rocket, as soon as this month.
Starlink is currently the largest satellite network in orbit, with nearly 10,000 satellites deployed. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates the business could generate approximately $9 billion in revenue for SpaceX in 2026.
Nicolls also confirmed that SpaceX is rebranding its direct-to-cell service as Starlink Mobile.
The service currently operates with 650 satellites capable of connecting directly to smartphones and has approximately 10 million monthly active users. SpaceX expects that figure to exceed 25 million monthly active users by the end of 2026.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI and X to pay off $17.5B debt in full: report
The update was shared initially in a report from Bloomberg News, which cited people reportedly familiar with the matter.
Elon Musk’s social platform X and artificial intelligence startup xAI are reportedly preparing to repay approximately $17.5 billion in outstanding debt in full.
The update was shared initially in a report from Bloomberg News, which cited people reportedly familiar with the matter.
Morgan Stanley, which arranged the debt financing for both companies, has reportedly informed existing lenders that X and xAI plan to pay back the full amount of the $17.5 billion debt. Bloomberg’s sources did not disclose where the capital for the repayment would be coming from.
X, formerly known as Twitter, assumed roughly $12.5 billion in debt during Musk’s acquisition of the company. xAI separately borrowed about $5 billion through bonds and loans last June. The two firms merged last year under xAI Holdings.
Bloomberg noted that portions of the debt are relatively recent and may carry early repayment penalties. xAI’s $3 billion in high-yield bonds are expected to be redeemed at 117 cents on the dollar, reflecting a premium since the debt was expected to stay outstanding for at least two years.
X has been servicing tens of millions of dollars in monthly debt payments, while xAI has reportedly been burning approximately $1 billion in cash per month as it invests heavily in data centers, chips, and AI talent. That being said, xAI also concluded a funding round in January, where it raised $20 billion of new equity.
The repayment plans come as Musk consolidates several of his businesses. SpaceX recently acquired xAI, making it a subsidiary as the company explores plans for space-based data centers. The combined entity has been valued at approximately $1.25 trillion.
Bloomberg previously reported that SpaceX is targeting a confidential IPO filing as soon as this month, potentially positioning the private space firm for a public listing later this year. Representatives for Morgan Stanley declined to comment, and X and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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