This is the stuff of a white supremacist who fled the end of South African apartheid in the late 1980s to illegally immigrate into the US.
Notably, after repeatedly promoting and spreading white supremacist memes, his carefully curated 88 announcement for robots isn’t a coincidence. It represents the future vision of Tesla engineering the same way a neck tattoo works.
88 is a white supremacist numerical code for “Heil Hitler.” H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so 88 = HH = Heil Hitler. One of the most common white supremacist symbols, 88 is used throughout the entire white supremacist movement, not just neo-Nazis. One can find it as a tattoo or graphic symbol; as part of the name of a group, publication or website; or as part of a screenname or e-mail address. It is even sometimes used as a greeting or sign-off (particularly in messages on social networking websites).
Related: Tesla announced its largest “single build” site design would have exactly 88 charging stalls, after announcing its cars would cost… $88k.
Not to mention Tesla told German drivers that battery range estimates were calculated for an average speed of 88 km/h (54.68 mph), as reported in 2014:
Für diese ist noch ein weiterer Wert für die Reichweite angegeben – 480 km – „geschätzt“ bei einer Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit von 88 km/h. Für eine Reise-Limousine ist das doch ein Scherz, oder?
“Ist das doch ein Scherz” literally means “is this but a joke“? Tesla kept their Hitler car theme going by then registering the Model 3 “Motorleistung” (engine power) as 88kw.
Tesla Marketing?
Charge Plugs: 88
Model Cost: 88
Average Speed: 88
Engine Power: 88
Robot swarm launch date: 8/8
Also related: Musk yet again tries to promote and shield Nazis having trouble spreading fascism in Germany.
What did “you” say, and why ever would spreading a Nazi slogan be illegal in Germany?
These tactics seem awfully personal and direct, like posing a question to a friend in need, while deviously promoting willfull ignorance. The accused said “Alles für Deutschland“. He may as well have said 88 (Heil Hitler), as every white supremacist knows.
The accused, an AfD party leader long associated with Nazism, gave a 2021 speech ending with a shout out to the Nazi “stormtroopers” by using their very well known slogan for dramatic effect:
That AfD leader is going to court because “I’m just being funny/stupid with Nazi symbolism” isn’t an excuse in Germany, unlike America where Elon Musk exploits loopholes for a living.
Notably the Elon Musk “X” is a Nazi swastika reference from the 1930s that his fascist grandfather promoted, and “Mars Technocracy” just means Nazism.
