Volkswagen's History Draws Elon Musk's Amusement, Here's Why Tesla CEO Laughed

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Saturday shared a laugh on rival EV maker Volkswagen AG‘s VWAGY history.

What Happened: The CEO replied with a laughing emoji to a meme shared by a Twitter user on Volkswagen’s awkward history.

Volkswagen was established by Germany’s Nazi regime in 1937. The company’s history commences with the Käfer or Beetle, termed by the company itself on its website as a ‘Nazi prestige project.’

However, with the outbreak of World War II, mass production at Volkswagen took a back seat, and military vehicles and other armaments were produced using forced labor. Post-war, the British instructed the company to build the Volkswagen Saloon and since then the company has grown to be a major player in the global auto industry.

Why It Matters: In the first quarter, Volkswagen, which competes against Musk-led Tesla, delivered 2.04 million vehicles globally, a 7.5% increase year-on-year. Of this, 6.9 percent, or 141,000 were all-electric vehicles.

The company’s sales revenue grew by 22 percent to 76 billion euros primarily driven by a recovery in sales volumes in Europe and North America. Sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles rose to 4.3 million vehicles in the North American region during the quarter, the company said.

For 2023, the company sees vehicle deliveries of 9.5 million.

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