Elon Musk, Tesla's (TSLA) chief executive officer, is the most powerful CEO in the world.
He intends to use his soft power to influence world affairs. Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, he has not stopped interfering in world geopolitics. This Russian war has led to NATO sanctions against Moscow. In March, the EU pledged to cut its gas imports from Russia by two-thirds within a year.
In retaliation, President Vladimir Putin decided to reduce gas deliveries from Russia by 40%, thus provoking a gas crisis. Germany, Europe's largest economy, depends on Russia for nearly half of its gas supply. It is therefore no surprise that this gas war raises the question of the energy independence of the country, which is home to multinationals such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Siemens.
Last month, the German finance minister, the pro-business Christian Lindner, lifted a taboo: that of the extension of the three nuclear power plants still in operation in Germany, which must in principle be stopped at the end of the year. He had called for an "open and non-ideological" debate on the issue.
Nuclear Power Plants 'Should Keep Running'
It is not a question, Lindner said, of overcoming just one winter, but of ensuring the country's energy security "for the next three to five years", during which gas will be scarcer than before. The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the main opposition party in Germany, Friedrich Merz, who never forgave Angela Merkel for the early exit from the atom, also defends this idea.
Whether or not to extend nuclear power is undoubtedly the most divisive political question for the ruling coalition, made up of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Liberals of the FDP. The latter, close to the business community, are traditionally more in favor of nuclear power. The rejection of this energy is on the contrary one of the founding principles of the ecologist party. The consensus on the energy issue that has prevailed in Germany over the past ten years was that cheap Russian gas, less polluting than coal and whose supply was considered very secure, was the ideal way to support the transition to exit from nuclear and coal and the growth of renewables.
For Elon Musk, there is no debate to have. Germany simply has to continue to operate its existing nuclear plants. It is at this price that the country would regain control. The billionaire, who opened the first European Tesla factory in Germany in March, made it known by commenting on a tweet with a link to a video. In this video, an official of the operator of German nuclear power plants states that the plants can continue to operate without problem and that what is needed is the green light from the government.
"They should keep running," Musk posted.
Many Obstacles
The extension of the last reactors in operation was addressed by the German government as soon as the war broke out in Ukraine. The minister of the economy and the minister of the environment, both led by ecologists, had however ruled out the idea of resorting to it, on the grounds that the legal and technical risks were far greater than the expected gains. This is also the opinion of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who favors the development of renewables, the only ones capable, he believes, of ensuring real energy sovereignty for the country.
Not many experts dispute that there are many obstacles to the extension of the last nuclear power plants. A first difficulty is the lack of a legal basis: an extension decided in a hurry would require a major change in current law and regulations. Fuel is the second problem: it normally takes twelve to eighteen months to obtain it. And one of the country's main suppliers is Russia. As for the safety review of the remaining reactors, it could also take months.
The energy advantage obtained would probably be low, experts say. Nuclear power only covers 6% of electricity production in Germany. The country has less of a problem with electricity than a problem with heating. Gas, used directly for heating buildings and industrial processes such as chemicals, guarantees a third of the primary energy consumed in the country. It is impossible, in the short term, to convert these processes to electricity.
In Berlin, the Minister of the Economy therefore urged everyone to reduce their consumption.
