It is difficult to pigeonhole Elon Musk. He has surprised me in the last several years. First, by purchasing and liberating Twitter, and later by offering Trump his whole-hearted support. My impression of him has favorably changed over time, much as my opinion of Trump has also evolved with time.

Recently, I penned an article lauding Elon Musk for his support of the AfD party in Germany. I thought it was a brave move, even for Musk. The AfD has been slandered by the European ruling class and media, so much so that it is hard for observers in the US to receive an unbiased view of it.

Over the weekend, Musk followed up his initial statement praising the AfD with a tract providing the reasons for his support. While most of his reasons were sound, his analysis of German energy policy is slanted in a way that distorts the true nature of Germany’s energy transition, Energiewende. The following is what he wrote.

Energy and independence: The energy policy pursued by the current coalition is not only economically costly, but also geopolitically naive. Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear energy and instead rely heavily on coal and imported gas, as well as volatile wind and solar power, without the battery storage necessary to maintain a stable power supply, has left the country vulnerable, especially to power outages. The AfD has a pragmatic approach to energy and is advocating a balanced approach. I hope they will consider the expansion of safe nuclear energy combined with battery storage to cushion major fluctuations in electricity consumption, because that is the obvious solution.

His message is cleverly worded. He lumps the blame for Germany’s current precarious energy situation on its decision to phase out nuclear energy and lack of foresight in not providing enough battery storage to maintain a stable power supply with wind and solar power. Although, Germany’s decision to shut down nuclear power was monumentally stupid, it was only one of several errors it made in pursuit of Energiewende. Germany’s biggest mistake was to even start on a quest to power a modern economy with unreliable wind and solar power. That venture was doomed from the start. A simple back-of-the-napkin calculation would have told one that solar, wind and batteries made no economic sense. However, this is not the first time that German pride in accomplishing the impossible has driven them over the cliff. Therefore, when Musk implies that only if Germany had installed a few more of his batteries, its scheme might have worked, he is being less than candid.

His response should not surprise me. After all, he is the founder of Tesla, an EV and battery manufacturer. I must remind myself that Musk is a battery salesman and biggest booster of the industry. That is not a bad thing. That is just a reality that must be considered when accessing the man. The fact that he is promoting a vision of the future with renewables, batteries, and EVs that I believe is dumb-headed does not diminish my view of him. Battery salesman or not, his bravery in taking a stance against the Censorship-Industrial Complex can’t be forgotten or diminished—though he recently got himself into hot water regarding disagreements over the H-1B visa debate—so I still consider Musk as an American hero.

Image generated by AI.