Laschet meets Musk at the Giga Berlin

German chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU) met with Elon Musk on his tour of the Giga Berlin factory. The candidate is known for his ability to sometimes place his foot in his mouth, and this meeting did not disappoint.

Laschet asked Musk what the future of propulsion for cars is: hydrogen or battery electric. Elon Musk, as the CEO of the largest BEV manufacturer in the world, laughed at Lashet for this. What kind of answer did Laschet expect from the head of the largest BEV manufacturer? To top it off, Laschet then made the claim that this was a “scientific dispute” about this question.

a leading candidate to succeed merkel, having been told by businessman elon musk that the future of cars is electric not hydrogen, claims there is a "scientific dispute" over which is best

scientists say this dispute does not exist

via @rawbowke https://t.co/GIWfoYgKL5

— Ajit Niranjan (@NiranjanAjit) August 13, 2021

After a video of the exchange went viral, Laschet took to Twitter to defend his statement as referring to trucks. While trucks may have been part of their conversation, the video, unfortunately, shows Lashet specifically asking “What is the future of cars?”

Lieber Cem, Gespräch mit @elonmusk ging um Mobilität der Zukunft. Bei LKW setzen #Volvo und #Daimler auf Brennstoffzelle, #Tesla u #VW auf Batterie. Die grüne Landesregierung #BaWü unterstützt @Daimler bei Wasserstoff. Bei PKW ist klar: Elektro! Fahre ja selbst @eGO_Mobile_SE :-) https://t.co/kDmZtP6Q1U

— Armin Laschet (@ArminLaschet) August 13, 2021

Elections in Germany are coming in September, and will see the first new chancellor elected as Angela Merkel will retire after 16 years as head of the state. Voter confidence in the candidates is also at a historic low point in the nation.