Elon Musk wants to influence our election – German Govt alleges

The German government on Monday accused United States billionaire Elon Musk of trying to influence its election slated for February with articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany, AfD, Party.

It was gathered that Musk, who is set to serve in US President-elect, Donald Trump’s new administration as an outside adviser, endorsed the AfD as Germany’s last hope in a guest opinion piece for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest.

With X posts and the opinion piece, a German government spokesperson said it was indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election.

According to the spokesman, Musk is free to express his opinion, adding that after all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.

Musk has defended his right to weigh in on German politics because of his significant investments and has praised the AfD’s approach to regulation, taxes, and market deregulation.

His intervention has come as Germans prepare to vote in a parliamentary election on February 23 after the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Musk also called for Scholz’s resignation after a car rammed into a crowd at a Christmas market on Dec. 20, killing five people.

The AfD is currently in second place in opinion polls behind the main opposition conservatives and might be able to thwart a center-right or center-left majority in the election.

Germany’s mainstream parties have pledged not to work with the AfD at the national level.

The government spokesperson said Musk’s endorsement of the AfD was a recommendation to vote for a party that is being monitored on suspicion of being right-wing extremist and which has already been recognized as a partly right-wing extremist.