USA | Elon Musk and the Tesla Files: A man who will stop at nothing

Is Elon Musk a poor rich madman, a drug addict, an eccentric, a storyteller, or the greatest genius of our time? Insights into his biography reveal a divided man.

Musk comes from an unhappy, divided, and violent home. He was bullied and beaten at school. Today, he only knows victory or defeat, bullying at any cost. This seems to put him on a similar level in character to the US President Donald Trump, whom he bought into office with "more than $260 million," as the authors write. A mutual dependency: two liars and con artists of the highest order.

These "Tesla Files" are a stroke of luck for the investigation. In November 2021, a whistleblower accidentally discovered unfathomable security vulnerabilities in the company's entire system. He first copied and stored massive amounts of material, then contacted US authorities, data protection officers, and even the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He encountered disinterest, stubbornness, and ignorance. Power structures like the company owned by the world's richest man are not being addressed by government oversight bodies. These, too, are symptoms of a fragile democracy. Those who should protect them are failing to react, leaving the field to potentates.

Whistleblower Lukasz Krupski, for example, sought access to the press. He was one of many initially ardent advocates of the idea of ​​a "dream factory," as Musk himself calls his company. The media feared the multi-billionaire, who, like Trump, embraced the "hire and fire" principle and wielded considerable influence in executive suites. Krupski, who lives in Norway, eventually attracted the interest of the German newspaper "Handelsblatt." Starting in May 2023, the newspaper published a series of articles that attracted worldwide attention. The very first text was a direct hit: the headline: "The defect-ridden giant with autopilot."

With around 60 percent of all satellites in orbit around our planet, Elon Musk can steer the world as he pleases.

And now this more in-depth book. "We gained insight into how the richest man in the world runs his empire," write journalists Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden: "We learned that Musk is called 'Traveller' by his bodyguards and 'N1,' short for Number 1, by his employees. That he tends to lose himself in micromanagement, suspects enemies everywhere, and that his employees fear nothing more than his wrath. And we discovered that Musk defies everything and everyone—even the rules he himself sets.

Above all: This man will stop at nothing! Accidents involving the self-steering system, brake failures, and chassis failures in his Tesla supercar are becoming more frequent worldwide, including in Germany. Regardless: Mistakes are there to be learned from, is his cynical slogan. According to this logic, deaths are collateral damage, for which the company accepts no responsibility. Accidents continue to happen, and the causes are covered up to avoid sanctions.

Investigative authorities, courts, police, public prosecutors, and insurance companies are ignorantly lagging behind technological developments, especially since the company is a "black box," as Iwersen and Verfürden report in their book. It is "a structure consistently designed to protect Musk's vision of autonomous driving while simultaneously shielding critical information from third parties." The final conclusion is the sobering one: "No one outside of Tesla understands how Elon Musk's vehicles work. Yet there are more than six million of them on our roads worldwide."

"I don't have a problem with being hated," Musk said at a public event. "Go ahead. Hate me," he challenged his audience. He added proudly, "I mean, that's a real weakness. The need to be liked. A real weakness. And I don't have it." At the same time, he suffers from paranoia. His lack of empathy is a result of his Asperger's syndrome – a form of autism in which those affected often have difficulty interpreting the emotional signals of those around them. Although Musk recognizes his shortcomings, he prefers to flirt with them rather than apologize to those he wrongs.

Reading this report and the whistleblower's files, one might think that Elon Musk's empire is a house of cards that could collapse at any moment – ​​because it's full of hot air and chaos. A surprising realization about the world's richest man. He's a mess!

Why the two German investigative journalists from the "Handelsblatt" refrain from mentioning the top German politicians who, with great fanfare, rolled out the red carpet for Musk in Berlin-Grünheide remains a mystery. When Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, and Brandenburg's Minister-President Dietmar Woidke visited the new plant in March 2022, the inhumane conditions prevailing in Elon Musk's factories in the USA had long been known. The authors speak of a "toxic corporate culture at Tesla," but international realpolitik ignores this and places no limits on these activities.

The book reads like a report in the tradition of Günter Wallraff, with passages like a crime report. An exposé that will make you shudder. A monstrous company gradually takes shape, and brutal and inhumane working conditions become clear. But what can be done against Musk and his omnipotence, and yes, even his violence?

At the end of the reading, one is left with a sense of disillusionment. Truth doesn't count, rules don't count, and critical researchers are persecuted by every means, including legal force, to silence them. As long as politicians allow (or even promote) such structures, a man like Elon Musk will remain a serious threat to humanity. With roughly 60 percent of all satellites orbiting our planet, he can truly control the world as he pleases. It's high time for politicians and the judiciary to put a stop to this man.

Sönke Iwersen/Michael Verfürden: The Tesla Files. Revelations from the Realm of Elon Musk. CH Beck, 246 pp., hardcover, €26.