Elon Musk has backed a far-right political party in Germany
Elon Musk has backed several far-right European parties. (Getty)
Elon Musk has caused outrage after he threw his support behind a far-right political party in Germany, lauding them as the country’s saviour.
In a post on Musk’s own social media platform X, he wrote that “only” the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party can “save Germany”.
He also shared a video of a German right-wing influencer named Naomi Seibt, who is known for supporting AfD and for being a climate change-denier.
Musk’s tweet – and Seibt’s video – comes just weeks before a snap election is due to happen in Germany.
Alice Weidel, the AfD’s chancellor candidate, responded to Musk’s tweet with enthusiasm. She wrote: “Yes! You are perfectly right.”
Only the AfD can save Germany https://t.co/Afu0ea1Fvt
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024
But others were not so positive. The German health minister Karl Lauterbach said Musk’s comments were “undignified and highly problematic”.
Lauterbach also accused Musk of election interference and called for authorities to “keep a close eye on the goings-on on X”.
“It is very disturbing, the way in which the platform X, which I use very intensively myself, is increasingly being used to spread the political positions and goals of Mr Musk,” Lauterbach said.
Germans are expected to vote for a new government on February 23 after a centre-left coalition, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, collapsed.
Currently, the AfD is running second in the polls and there are fears that the party might be able to beat a centre-right or a centre-left majority.
This is not the first time Musk has voiced support for the AfD, last year criticising the German government’s handling of illegal migration.
Musk has supported other far-right and anti-immigration parties across Europe before, including backing Nigel Farage’s Reform party in the UK.
He is reportedly considering donating $100 million (£80m) to Reform to further their political reach, but would not be able to do the same for AfD due to German law restricting donations by non-EU foreigners.
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