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Tech billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise virtual appearance during Germany’s Alternative to Germany (AfD) election campaign event in Halle in eastern Germany on Saturday, as thousands of people gathered to show their support for the far-right party.
Musk spoke to a hall of 4,500 people alongside party leader Alice Weidel about preserving German culture and protecting the German people.
Musk spoke in support of the far-right party, saying: “I’m very excited for the AfDI think you are really the best hope for Germany. Something that I think is just very important is that people are proud of Germany and being German. This is very important. It’s OK to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.”
“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not lose that in a kind of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk told onlookers.
Last week, Musk caused a stir after he made a straight arm, Nazi-like gesture during his speech to the US president of Donald Trump inauguration.
On Saturday, he said, “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their parents, their great-grandparents,” apparently referring to Germany’s Nazi past.
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“I think there’s frankly too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move on,” he said.
Musk told the crowd to be “optimistic” and “excited” about Germany’s future, adding: “I hope your people will unite and strongly support AfD.”
“Let’s go, guys! Let’s go! Fight for a great future for Germany, Go, go, go! Convince your friends. Convince everyone,” Musk said as the crowd clapped and cheered.
“I think this election in Germany is incredibly important. I think it can decide the whole fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world,” added Musk. “That’s the meaning of this election. That’s why it’s very important to talk to your friends and family and convince them to consider voting for AfD. And then just go along like a chain reaction. Convince one friend, talk to a other friend
Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 for the German chancellor Olaf Scholz three-party governance coalition collapses in November 2024 in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.
The CEO of Tesla, who spoke about the suppression of speech under the German government on Saturday, has previously attacked Scholz on X.
Scholz said last Tuesday that he does not support freedom of expression if it is used for extreme right-wing views.
“We have freedom of expression in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire. And what we do not accept is if this supports far-right positions,” said Scholz in Davos when he was asked about Musk’s hand gesture during Trump’s inauguration celebrations.
Musk dismissed the criticism as a “tired” attack. “Shame on Oaf Schitz,” Musk placed on X last Tuesday with a video clip shared by another user showing Scholz speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort.
Musk also wrote a guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag – a sister publication of Politico owned by the Axel Springer Group – published in German in December 2024.
“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary.
The world’s richest man went on to say that the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes but reality.”
Musk also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the state of the country.
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–With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
& copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
