Germany accuses Elon Musk of trying to influence its election

Reuters — The German government accused US billionaire Elon Musk on Monday of trying to influence its election due in February with articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany party, even though it suggested they amounted to “nonsense.” Musk, who is set to serve 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. “It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election” with X posts and the opinion piece, a German government spokesperson said. Musk is free to express his opinion, the spokesperson said, adding: “After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.” Musk, the world’s richest person, 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. 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 partly right-wing extremist.” German politicians have excoriated Musk for his endorsement of the AfD, with the co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.