Germany accuses Elon Musk of trying to influence its elections by supporting an extreme right-wing party

The German government accused American billionaire Elon Musk on Monday of trying to influence the elections scheduled for next February with articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany party, although it indicated that they amounted to “nonsense.”

Musk, who is set to serve Donald Trump’s new administration as an external advisor, endorsed the AfD as Germany’s last hope in a guest opinion piece for newspaper Welt am Sonntag, prompting the commentary’s editor to resign in protest.

A German government spokesperson said: “In fact, Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election” through X posts and the opinion piece.

The spokesman said Musk was free to express his opinion, adding: “Ultimately, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.”

Watch | The German government says Musk is trying to interfere in the elections:

Germany accuses Elon Musk of interfering in its upcoming elections

The German government accuses Elon Musk of trying to influence the upcoming elections after he expressed support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party in an op-ed. Musk’s article was published in Welt am Sonntag newspaper over the weekend, and was met with criticism from politicians and the resignation of the newspaper’s opinion editor.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has defended his right to influence German politics due to his “significant investments” and praised the AfD’s approach to regulation, taxation and market liberalization.

His intervention came as the Germans prepared to vote in the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 23, after the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Musk also called for Schulz’s resignation after a car plowed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market on December 20, killing five people.

The main parties pledged not to work with the AfD

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party currently ranks second in opinion polls behind the main conservative opposition party, and may be able to thwart a center-right or center-left majority in the elections. The main parties in Germany have pledged not to work with the AfD at the national level.

The government spokesman said Musk’s endorsement of the AfD was “a recommendation to vote for a party that is being monitored (by domestic intelligence) on suspicion of being far-right and which has already been recognized as partly far-right.”

German politicians strongly criticized Musk for his support of the Alternative for Germany party, with the co-leader of Schulz’s Social Democratic Party likening him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“They both want to influence our elections and support the enemies of democracy in the AfD in particular. They want to weaken Germany and plunge it into chaos,” Lars Klingbeil told the Funke news group on Monday.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current favorite to succeed Schulz as chancellor, told Funke that Musk’s comments were “intrusive and arrogant.”