On January 7, 2022, Germany shut down three of its last six nuclear power stations in an effort to completely withdraw from nuclear power and focus on renewables.

The three shut down nuclear power stations were located in Brokdorf, Grohnde, and Gundremmingen. The final three remaining stations in Neckarwestheim, Essenbach, and Emsland are set to be shut down by the end of 2022.

The German government decided to speed up the phasing out of nuclear power in the country due to protests in the country over the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011.

In the interview, Elon Musk said that Germany should “not shut down the nuclear power plants that are running,” adding that they should actually “restart the ones that are already shut down.”

“They can supply energy again the fastest. Shutting down nuclear power plants now is crazy. Especially in a place where no natural disasters happen. In a place where major earthquakes or tsunamis occur, that’s more of a valid question.”

He said that “As long as there is no massive risk of natural disasters- which is not the case in Germany- there really is no danger from nuclear power.”

Earlier in March 2022, Elon Musk tweeted out a similar warning to Europe regarding shutting down nuclear power plants.

He said, “Hopefully, it is now extremely obvious that Europe should restart dormant nuclear power stations and increase power output of existing ones,”.

Adding that “This is *critical* to national and international security.”