Summary
Polish Tourism Minister Sławomir Nitras has called for a Tesla boycott following Elon Musk’s remarks urging Germany to “move past” its Nazi history.
Musk’s comments, made during a far-right AfD campaign event, sparked outrage, particularly in Poland, which lost 6 million people in WWII.
The controversy comes ahead of Germany’s February 23 election and just before Musk’s Tesla earnings call.
As a key advisor to Trump, Musk’s stance could impact Tesla’s market position in Europe, where historical remembrance remains a sensitive issue.
The EU should prepare for a trade war, but it shouldn’t take the first shot.
In this instance, this isn’t a trade war, it’s a war against neo-Nazism. Imposing tarrifs specifically on Tesla wouldn’t be about helping European car manufacturer, it would be about extinguishing Musk’s rhetoric.