Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said in an interview with Matthias Duffner, the first executive of Insider's parent company Axelspringer, and Insider said in an interview with Insider on the 27th (local time). Musk talked about topics ranging from the war in Ukraine to nuclear power, declining fertility and humanoid robots being developed.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke at a conference in March 2020. /Associated Press Joint News
Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke at a conference in March 2020. /Associated Press Joint News
Speaking about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Dufner said, "Putin's behavior has something to do with european energy policy mistakes and Germany's abandonment of nuclear energy." As Europe became increasingly dependent on sources such as Russian gas, it did not effectively prevent Russia from invading Ukraine in the early days. Musk agreed that "Germany should not shut down nuclear power plants." This is crazy. "Nuclear power plants should not be shut down, those that have already been closed should be reopened, he said." "Nuclear power is the fastest." There is no real risk to nuclear power plants, especially in places where there are no serious earthquakes or tsunamis," he said. This is aimed at Germany, which plans to phase out nuclear power completely by 2022.
Musk said nuclear energy is critical to the transition to green energy. "In the long run, most of the energy will come from solar power," he said, "and since the sun only shines during the day, solar cells that store energy are essential." "Until then, we have to keep nuclear energy." No matter how much I emphasize it, how much I cannot overemphasize it. He said, "I'll make it clear." Shutting down nuclear power is completely insane. ”
Musk has spoken many times about the need for nuclear energy. Speaking at a tech week in Italy last September, he said, "In the long run, most of the energy must come from solar, wind, geothermal and hydrogen, but we should also think positively about nuclear energy." Existing nuclear power plants should not be shut down. "I'm surprised that some countries are moving away from nuclear energy, a safe source of energy," he said.
Optimus Prime, a humanoid robot that Tesla is developing. /Tesla
◇ Humanoid robot prototype released this year
On the other hand, Musk said of the satellite communications service Starlink that he applied to Ukraine, "We think (Ukraine) may need Starlink, and we are prepared in advance." Russia is said to have prepared in advance to cut off Ukraine's telecommunications network.
He is also concerned about declining fertility rates and the misuse of artificial intelligence. "People still think there's a lot of population, but it's a misconception," Musk said. "I don't want to have anything that might be harmful to humans," he said, "and I have some fear of artificial intelligence and robots." ”
Currently, Tesla is developing a humanoid robot called Optimus. Musk said: "Optimus Prime is a worker-type robot that does repetitive, boring and dangerous tasks that humans don't want to do.
Elon Musk spoke at the press conference of Tesla's gigafactory near Berlin, Germany on the 22nd.
He hopes to one day implant human brains into robots. "I think we can download (to Optimus Prime) something that we think sets us apart," he said. Musk also has a negative view of humanity's efforts to prolong life. He said: "I don't think people should live long. If people don't die, we will fall into old ideas and society will not progress. ”
"The United States has a very old leadership," he said. Old political leaders cannot communicate with the public. Musk did not name the older politician, but industry analysts said it was aimed at Democratic party leaders, including 79-year-old President Joe Biden. Musk has debated with Democratic governors and senators over taxes and the closure of factories in the early stages of the coronavirus.
What is Musk's dream? "The most urgent thing in the short term is to complete full self-driving," he said, "and the ultimate hope is to build a self-sufficient city on Mars." ”