German government officials accused Tesla founder Elon Musk on Monday of trying to interfere in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections on behalf of the country’s far-right political party, citing recent social media posts and a weekend op-ed asserting his endorsement of it.
Musk has tried to describe the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the party best able to usher in a fiscally responsible economy in Germany – praising the party’s approach to regulations and taxes, while also defending strongly against allegations of extremism and new policies. Nazi relations.
His comments angered senior German government officials, who pointed out on Monday that the timing, coming just weeks before Germany’s early parliamentary elections, was clearly intended in their view to influence the German public, regardless of whether Musk’s messages panned out. So or not. goal.
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(Co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, Alice Weidel, attends the AfD election campaign in front of the cathedral in Magdeburg, Germany, Monday, December 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi))
“Elon Musk is already trying to influence the federal elections,” German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters at a press conference on Monday.
Hoffman said Musk was free to express his opinion, adding: “At the end of the day, freedom of opinion also covers the biggest nonsense.”
Musk was sharply criticized for his apparent support for the Alternative for Germany political party just weeks before early parliamentary elections were held in February.
Musk criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this fall, calling him an “idiot.”
Musk also praised the AfD last week on his social media platform, X, writing: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on Capitol Hill. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty)
Musk confirmed his support in an editorial published in the center-right German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
“The portrayal of the AfD as far-right is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a gay partner from Sri Lanka! Does this sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Musk said of AfD co-chair Alice Weidel.
He added that, in his view, the AfD “can lead the country to a future in which economic prosperity, cultural safety and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.”
These statements sparked criticism from current and former US lawmakers, and from leaders in Berlin, who pointed to the party’s reputation as a neo-Nazi group.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, also a member of the Social Democratic Party, criticized Musk’s intervention as “inoffensive and highly problematic.”
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Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C. (Alison Robert/AFP/via Getty Images)
All major German political parties have ruled out working with the AfD, and its youth wing was classified as a “confirmed extremist” group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency earlier this year.
For its part, the Alternative for Germany party rejected this characterization.
The deterrence of US and German officials was not enough to deter Musk, who used his op-ed to argue that the German economy is crippled by regulatory sprawl and bureaucracy, describing the AfD as “Germany’s last spark of hope.” “This country.”
“Germany’s traditional parties have failed,” Musk wrote in an op-ed for the German Social Democratic Party and other major parties. “Their policies have led to economic stagnation, social unrest and the erosion of national identity.”
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The decision to publish Musk’s op-ed in a center-right newspaper was heavily criticized and prompted Welt am Sonntag’s opinion editor, Eva-Marie Kugel, to announce her resignation.