Claim:
Billionaire Peter Thiel once stated, “If you’re evil, you’re at least competent. And if you’re evil, you’re not bad. And therefore, maybe you’re actually kind of good because you’re at least getting something done.”
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Thiel delivered these remarks during a September 24, 2026, appearance on the podcast "MD Connects," while responding to a question regarding the tendency to apply morality to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. Although viral posts suggested Thiel was evaluating human morality and ethics, the surrounding conversation proves otherwise.
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<p dir="ltr"><span>In September 2026, a social media rumor spread claiming that billionaire PayPal co-founder and Palantir executive Peter Thiel had publicly argued that being evil is actually a positive trait.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Users across </span><a href="https://mvau.lt/media/d4a01dcc-23a0-40ea-a47d-6d88a4fb318c"><span>social media platforms</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1wrv1er/peter_thiel_justifies_evil_actions_if_youre_evil/?q=source&type=comments&cId=ee5e6e9a-d3b4-4385-aa7d-be134b93b706&iId=bb44b9ad-bc84-4d00-94a6-f9d7582a64bb"><span>Reddit</span></a><span> shared a quote attributed to Thiel: "If you're evil, you're at least competent. And if you're evil, you're not bad. And therefore, maybe you're actually kind of good because you're at least getting something done."</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Certain accounts even posted video footage purportedly showing Thiel making the remarks.</span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter_tweet_display_box">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Peter Thiel, venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal, on competence mattering more than morality:</p>
<p>"if you're evil, you're at least competent. And if you're evil, you're not bad."</p>
<p>"A Ferrari is an evil car because it doesn't get many miles per gallon. A Trabi is a bad car.… <a href="https://t.co/2H3GTzqIPA">pic.twitter.com/2H3GTzqIPA</a></p>
<p>— Guillermo Flor (@guilleflorvs) <a href="https://x.com/guilleflorvs/status/2103553999920038377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2026</a></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span>The attribution of the quote to Thiel is accurate.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>He voiced these opinions during an interview on the "</span><a href="https://www.mdmeets.com/"><span>MD Meets</span></a><span>" podcast hosted by Mathias Döpfner. The episode went live on September 24, 2026, and can be streamed on audio networks like </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2xsyCu5lfZKjeQ1fyxuKvp"><span>Spotify</span></a><span> and </span><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/md-meets/id1843043635?l=en-GB"><span>Apple Podcasts</span></a><span>, alongside a corresponding video on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7yl7fEHeKM&t=819s"><span>YouTube</span></a><span> that mirrors the snippet shared online.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The segment begins near the 13:40 timestamp when Döpfner asks, "Why do we always moralize new technologies? I would say technologies are just neutral. You can use them for good and for bad causes and it depends on us, what we human beings are doing with it."</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Thiel's reply was as follows:</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span>I'm going to get in trouble for what I'm about to say, but I think we moralize way too much. There's always a question I like to ask: What is the antonym of good? And the moral antonym is evil. The functional antonym is bad. A Ferrari is an evil car because it doesn't get many miles per gallon. A Trabbi is a bad car. It's less good than a golf cart. You know, the former East German car. And so, if you're evil, you're at least competent. And if you're evil, you're not bad. And therefore, maybe you're actually kind of good because you're at least getting something done.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7yl7fEHeKM"></iframe></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Because the excerpt was widely shared without Döpfner’s initial framing question, viewers frequently misconstrued Thiel's words as an evaluation of human ethics rather than a metaphorical argument concerning the debate over technological innovation.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Thiel further clarified his stance by referencing two distinct literary takes on the legend of Faust, where a man strikes a bargain with the devil for power and wisdom.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>He continued:</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span>If you contrast the Faust books of [Christopher] Marlowe vs. [Johann Wolfgang von] Goethe, in Marlowe's "Faust," it was the 16th-century Faust story, Faust is a fake scientist. He's sort of like a magician, a fake alchemist. It's bad science. And he goes straight to hell. In Goethe's "Faust," he has a pact with the devil and he sort of gets this knowledge by morally dubious means. But it still always works out more for the best and Goethe's Faust gets redeemed. I think it's better to be good than evil, I want to be very clear, but I prefer Goethe's "Faust" to Marlowe's "Faust."</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The moral question of our society, we have all these good vs. evil debates, and we're just full of badness. Most of the time, things are not even evil, they're not even good. They're just merely bad. So you're in a world where 99% of the businesses, companies, people, political leaders, business leaders are totally incompetent, that's the problem we should actually be talking about.</span></p>
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<p dir="ltr"><span>Previously, in a January 11, 2017, profile with </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/fashion/peter-thiel-confirm-or-deny.html"><span>The New York Times</span></a><span>, Thiel was asked if he appreciated a fictional television character modeled after him on HBO's "Silicon Valley." He responded, "I liked him. I watched the first season. My character died. I think eccentric is always better than evil."</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span>For additional background reports regarding Thiel and Palantir, readers can explore coverage on </span><a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/06/13/citizens-palantir-surveillance-database/"><span>Palantir's rumored development of a U.S. citizen tracking database</span></a><span>.</span></p>