Elon Musk points to Volkswagen's Nazi links after Alyssa Milano swaps her Tesla for a VW over 'hate and white supremacy' on Twitter

The new Twitter owner was responding to a tweet from the actress who questioned advertisers continuing to use the platform amid hate speech.

• Alyssa Milano tweeted that she had traded in her Tesla for a Volkswagen and "loved it."
• Elon Musk liked a response pointing out that VW was founded by Adolf Hitler's government.
• Musk has faced a wave of criticism from celebrities since taking over Twitter.

Elon Musk pointed to Volkswagen's Nazi links after actress Alyssa Milano said she was trading in her Tesla for a VW over "hate and white supremacy" on the platform.

In a tweet on Saturday, the "Charmed" star suggested she traded in her car because of Musk, while challenging advertisers to leave the platform.

"I gave back my Tesla. I bought the VW ev. I love it," Milano tweeted. "I'm not sure how advertisers can buy space on Twitter. Publicly traded company's products being pushed in alignment with hate and white supremacy doesn't seem to be a winning business model."

Conservative comedians the Hodgetwins replied by pointing out that Volkswagen was "literally founded" by the Nazis, to which Musk replied with a laughing emoji and a "100" sign. 

—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2022

Volkswagen was founded in Germany in 1937 under Adolf Hitler's Nazi government as a state-owned enterprise. After the Second World War, it became a pillar of Germany's economic recovery under guidance from the UK. 

The brand initially struggled in the post-war years to break into the US market partly because of its Nazi heritage, according to the History Channel. Four concentration camps and eight forced-labor camps were located on company-owned property, per the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

Milano is one of many celebrities to voice their opposition to Musk's Twitter, which saw a spike in hate speech following his takeover. A report released by Musk on Saturday said that figure had since fallen back to pre-acquisition levels. Advertisers have left in droves over their concerns about such issues.

Tesla owner and author Stephen King has been a vocal opponent of Musk since the takeover and called him a "terrible fit for Twitter" Saturday, though he praised Musk's achievements with Tesla.

Milano is the latest high-profile Tesla customer to voice concerns about the car, though for different reasons to "It's Always Sunny" actor Glenn Howerton, who couldn't access his Tesla for days due to key-fob issues. 

Musk faces stiff competition from Volkswagen for EV sales, particularly outside the US. A study by Bloomberg Intelligence predicted the German automaker would dethrone Tesla as the world's biggest EV maker by 2024.

The world's richest man has tended to have a frosty relationship with other car makers, joking in the past that Tesla, which doesn't have a marketing department, gets free advertising from competitors publicly challenging him.