Exchange between rivals: Elon Musk surprises at top VW meeting

Exchange between rivals
Elon Musk surprises at top VW meetings

Tesla and Volkswagen are actually tough competitors. At a VW conference, however, Elon Musk was unexpectedly added as a speaker and was full of praise for the Wolfsburg-based company. VW boss Diess has already announced a return visit to Grünheide.

Tesla boss Elon Musk appeared as a surprise guest via video at a VW management conference in Alpach, Austria. CEO Herbert Diess published a picture on Twitter that showed him together with Musk on a screen on a stage. Diess wrote: “With a new way of thinking & a revolution at our corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg, we can create the new competition.” It was a good meeting with 200 top managers.

In addition, Diess thanked Musk and announced a visit to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg: “We will visit you soon in Grünheide.” According to a Volkswagen spokesman, Diess Musk also invited them to visit the corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg. Musk was added as a surprise guest, wrote Diess on the LinkedIn platform. According to the VW spokesman, Diess had invited the Tesla boss.

Musk: “Volkswagen is an icon”

The head of the electric car pioneer praised the German competitor according to the “Handelsblatt”. “Volkswagen is an icon,” he said. “I myself drove various VW models and a Porsche 911 for a long time.” To Diess’ question why Tesla is so much faster than the automaker, Musk replied: “It’s the management style. I’m primarily an engineer and, besides the car, I’m fascinated by supply chains, logistics and production processes.”

According to “Handelsblatt”, the Tesla boss dispelled VW’s concerns with the transition to e-mobility. The VW group will master the change, said Musk according to the “Handelsblatt”. He sees VW as his greatest challenger. Tesla has to become even faster and more productive than other car companies. “We have to get better despite all the successes,” said the Tesla boss, according to the report.

Diess wrote on LinkedIn that he was pleased to hear that Tesla, as the strongest competitor, was of the opinion that VW would succeed in the transition “if we press ahead with change at full speed”. But he also referred to the speed of Tesla. One example is that the company is coping well with the shortage of computer chips because the company has developed software that enables the use of different chips.

At the internal conference in Austria on Thursday, Diess swore his management circle to tougher competition with Tesla. The headquarters in Wolfsburg must also “become more efficient, faster”.

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