autoevolution
 

Elon Musk Joins Volkswagen Executive Conference, Speaks in Front of 200 VW Execs

Elon Musk made an on-screen appearance at last week's Volkswagen executive conference held in Alpbach, Austria. The news comes straight from VW Group's CEO, Herbert Diess, who posted two images with him on stage and Elon Musk's image on a TV that is placed vertically on a stand.
Herbert Diess and Elon Musk during videoconference call 6 photos
Photo: Screenshot from Herbert Diess' Verified Twitter account
Herbert Diess and Elon Musk during videoconference callHerbert Diess and Elon Musk during videoconference callHerbert Diess and Elon Musk during videoconference callHerbert Diess and Elon Musk during videoconference callHerbert Diess and Elon Musk during videoconference call
Bringing the head of a competitor to your executive conference is a bold move, but Volkswagen invited several other personalities to its conference held in Austria, as we have observed from Herbert Diess' Twitter feed. While he joined Twitter just last December, VW Group's CEO is quite active on the platform.

Elon Musk was described as a “surprise guest” by the CEO of the Volkswagen Group. According to media reports, Diess invited Musk to speak to VW Group's top executives, so this was not a surprise for the two leaders of two big names in the world of automobiles.

So, you might be wondering what Elon Musk said during his discussion with Herbert Diess and his speech made in front of 200 executives from the Volkswagen Group. According to the German daily Handelsblatt (German, sub. req.), Musk praised VW for "being an icon," as well as "Tesla's greatest challenger."

Herbert Diess then clarified on Twitter that Volkswagen has emerged as Tesla's main contender for global electric vehicle leadership. Diess also underlined the fact that he and VW will continue to dialogue with Tesla and Elon Musk.

On a different social media platform, the boss of the Volkswagen Group praised Tesla for managing to rewrite software that would enable it to switch to a different type of microchip in just two weeks. The unspecified microchip went out of stock and Tesla's quick reactions made the company ready to continue production despite the shortage.

Musk's invite to speak in front of so many Volkswagen executives is meant to motive the German conglomerate's leaders to accelerate the switch to EVs and bring a different mindset within the company. After all, VW is to thank for today's care for the environment after the Dieselgate scandal erupted.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories