Elon Musk, already set to join the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump as an outside adviser, is now also sticking his head into Germany’s upcoming elections. The billionaire entrepreneur endorsed the country’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), on social media on Friday.
“Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he acquired in 2022.
Musk made that comment in response to a video from far-right activist Naomi Seibt, in which she slammed Friedrich Merz, who leads the Christian Democratic Union of Germany party (CDU) and is reportedly leading in the polls to become Germany’s next chancellor.
Seibt claimed in her post that Merz “is horrified by the idea that Germany should follow Elon Musk’s and [Argentinian President] Javier Milei’s example” of reforming the country with drastic public spending cuts.
Musk has become a close confidant of Trump’s, who previously said he would name him co-director of a yet-to-be-created federal advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE), that will purportedly aim to slash supposedly wasteful government spending.
Musk appears naturally drawn to the AfD, whose nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric mirrors Trump’s, and he reshared footage last year on X from a pro-AfD account that criticized Germany for subsidizing efforts to rescue refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean.
The German Foreign Office replied directly at the time to note, “It’s called saving lives.”
In September, the AfD became the first far-right party to win a state election in Germany since World War II. Its leader in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, was convicted for the second time in July for knowingly using a Nazi slogan, “Everything for Germany,” at a political event.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) shared his outrage about Musk’s endorsement Friday on X, writing: “The out of touch billionaire running the incoming Trump Administration announced last night that he enthusiastically supports the neo-Nazi party in Germany. WTF. NONE OF THIS OK, EVERYONE. NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) agreed, stating in a repost of Musk’s AfD endorsement: “Literally is a neo-Nazi party. Not even joking. This drug addled billionaire thinks he runs the world.”
German chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed Musk’s AfD endorsement during an unrelated press conference Friday and said freedom of speech does also apply “to multibillionaires,” but that it doesn’t prevent them from saying “things that are not right,” per Bloomberg.
Scholz led a three-party coalition government until he fired his finance minister Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democratic Party, in November. This left his coalition without a majority in Parliament, where Scholz lost a confidence vote Monday, triggering new elections.
The AfD is currently polling in second at 19% behind the CDU, according to Politico.
Musk is certainly willing to spend a fortune on elections, as he reportedly doled out more than a quarter-billion dollars to reinstall Trump in the White House. He recently met with Nigel Farage amid speculation over a $100 million donation to boost his right-wing party, Reform UK.
Musk won’t be able to directly help finance the AfD’s efforts, however, as German law prohibits non-European foreigners from donating more than 1,000 euros. He certainly wields tremendous influence via X, nonetheless.
Germany’s election, initially scheduled for next September, will be on Feb. 23.