Poland urges Tesla boycott after Musk’s call to ‘move past’ Nazi guilt

Outrage over Elon Musk’s support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and call for Germany to “move past” its Nazi history could start impacting his financial interests after Polish Tourism Minister Sławomir Nitras called for a Tesla boycott.

“There is no justification for any reasonable Pole to continue purchasing Teslas. A serious and strong response is necessary, including a consumer boycott,” Nitras told Polish media.

Musk is a key advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump and heads up a new department in the administration focused on increasing government efficiency. But he has maintained his status as CEO of EV company Tesla and his various other companies like SpaceX and social media platform X.

The bulk of his wealth, however, comes from Tesla stock.

On Saturday, Musk virtually joined an official election campaign for the AfD, giving a speech in which he said Germany “focuses too much on past guilt,” endorsing a taboo stance that has been a rallying cry from the far-right for Germans to move on from Erinnerungskultur or its “culture of remembrance.”

“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even their great grandparents,” Musk said ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election.

His remarks came two days before the 80th anniversary of the the liberation of the Nazi camp at Auschwitz.

They have caused particular offense in Poland — which was the first country to be invaded by Adolf Hitler’s forces at the start of World War II. Poland lost around 6 million people in the war — half of them Jews, many of whom died in Nazi camps like Auschwitz that were sited on its territory. Millions more were rounded up and put to work as forced laborers.

Musk will be addressing financial analysts on Wednesday in the U.S. during his first Tesla earnings call since Trump took office.