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Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk gestures behind protective glass during a rally for Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump at the site of the assassination attempt on July against Trump, in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, on October 5, 2024.
Carlos Barria Reuters
Tesla CEO Elon Muska major donor and adviser to the president-elect Donald Trumpnow trying to influence Germany’s elections by displaying an endorsement on X of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In a place On Thursday night, Musk wrote: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Musk, who has more than 200 million followers listed on the site he owns, made the comment while sharing a post by far-right influencer Naomi Seibt, who claimed that “Germany’s presumptive next chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is horrified by the idea that Germany should follow the example of Elon Musk and Javier Milei, referring to the president of Argentina.
Seibt has a history of promoting white nationalist ideology, The Guardian reported earlierand denied the validity of scientific consensus around climate change, meaning it is driven by fossil fuel emissions.
In a post on X, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called Musk an “out-of-touch billionaire running the incoming Trump Administration” who “enthusiastically supports the neo-Nazi party in Germany.”
“The AfD’s mission is to rehabilitate the image of the Nazi movement,” Murphy wrote. He added that one of the party leaders has a sign that is “an open tribute to Hitler”, and another “describes Judaism as the ‘internal enemy’ in Germany”.
Musk and Tesla’s investor relations team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholza centre-right social democrat, rejected Musk’s claim that only the far-right party can “save Germany”.
Under Scholz’s leadership, GermanyThe far-left coalition collapsed in November, and AfD is currently polling in second place ahead of the February election. Across Germany, where the AfD has placed heavily in state elections, other parties have generally refused to form coalitions with it.
According to Pew Research, “AfD has lived against arms shipments in Ukraine is called for a end to sanctions on Russia,” a view shared by Musk.
Far-right parties have also gained ground in the Netherlands, Austria, Finland and elsewhere. Many applauded Trump’s election, which Musk helped fund with $277 million in campaign contributions and related Republican causes.
Tesla’s stock is up about 75% since Trump’s victory, overcoming its all-time high since 2021 last week.
AfD has reported criticized Tesla and its factory outside Berlin. The party said that many of the thousands of Tesla workers travel from Poland or Berlin, limiting the economic benefits to the local community in Brandeburg.
The AfD generally sees electric vehicles as part of an ideological climate movement, and not good for the German auto industry.
Europe has been a tough market for Tesla this year. According to data from the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, sales of Tesla cars decreased by 40.9% in November, surpassing the general decline of 9.5% in the sale of electric vehicles of batteries.
Elsewhere in Europe, Musk endorsed right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and expressed support for Nigel Farage in the UK, a populist politician and leader of Reform UK. In South America, Musk has endorsed and has a friendship with the president of Argentina Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist.
