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Having tapped his vast personal wealth and marshaled his 210 million followers on X to help propel Donald Trump to election victory in November, Elon Musk has turned his gaze to European politics.
"Vote Reform," Musk said in an X post on Tuesday, referring to Reform UK, a populist party in Britain led by Nigel Farage, a key figure in the UK's vote to leave the EU in 2016.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO — who has embraced conservative stances on issues such as immigration, diversity, and transgender rights in recent years — met with conservative firebrand Farage in mid-December at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
Farage later told the BBC that Musk was "fully, fully behind us" and open to donating to Reform UK if he could do so legally. Reform has made no secret of its excitement about Musk and his potential donation, with Farage describing him as a "bloody hero" in a recent interview with the UK's Daily Telegraph.
Musk has also been loudly critical of Britain's center-left prime minister, Keir Starmer. In numerous X posts, he's called the country a "tyrannical police state," backed calls for an election — despite one having only been held in July — and suggested the nation was on the brink of civil war.
The tech billionaire has also thrown his weight behind the German far-right party the AfD, which has come out strongly against immigration and echoed Trump in calling for mass deportations.
The AfD currently holds around 10% of the seats in Germany's legislative body, the Bundestag, but has made significant gains in recent years, including coming second in this year's European Parliament elections.
It is widely expected to win the second-highest share of votes in the Bundestag election in February, and like Reform, has welcomed Musk's support. Its candidate to become Germany's chancellor, Alice Weidel, said Musk was "perfectly right" when he said the party was the only one that could "save Germany" in an X post on December 20.
Musk then championed the AfD in an op-ed published in German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag last weekend. The paper and Business Insider are both owned by Axel Springer.
Musk wrote that years of misguided policies by the main political parties had led to "economic stagnation, social unrest, and the erosion of national identity," and the AfD represented the "last spark of hope" for the country. He justified his German political commentary by pointing to his "significant investments" in the country.
Musk's Tesla Gigafactory just outside Berlin is the company's main European facility and employs close to 12,000 people. It produces components such as batteries, as well as completing the final assembly of the Tesla Model Y.
The paper printed a response by its editor-in-chief-designate, Jan Philipp Burgard, on the same page as Musk's controversial column. Burgard wrote that "Musk's diagnosis is correct," but his claim that only the AfD can save Germany is "fatally flawed."
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Before the op-ed, Musk's posts on X in support of the AfD prompted a government spokesperson to accuse him of attempting to meddle in the election, as first reported by Reuters.
The spokesperson said that Musk was free to express his opinions, however said, "Freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense."
Friedrich Merz, the center-right Christian Democratic Union's candidate for chancellor, described Musk's backing of the AfD as "intrusive and pretentious."
"I cannot recall in the history of Western democracies a comparable case of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country," he told the Funke media group.
In his New Year's Eve message, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Musk's support of the AfD was part of a "logical and systematic" campaign to weaken Europe and erode its regulatory system.
Several of Musk's businesses, most notably Tesla, are subject to European regulations and stand to benefit from reduced oversight. Tesla's plans for fully self-driving cars face increased hurdles in Europe, where regulations on autonomous vehicles are more stringent.
Musk has also spoken fondly of Italy's right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. In September, he called her a "precious genius" who was "even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside."
Meloni leads the Brothers of Italy party — which has roots in the post-World War II neo-fascist Italian Social Movement. She came to power in 2022, standing on a platform of lower immigration, tighter border control, and traditional values. At the time, she was described as Italy's most right-wing leader since Benito Mussolini.
Trump's agenda of tax cuts, tariffs, and deregulation promises to benefit his companies. Tesla's stock surged as soon as his victory was declared. But it's less obvious what Musk and his companies would gain from the rise of those he backs in Europe.
Not only are AfD and Reform unlikely to form governments anytime soon, both also have policies that could hurt Tesla.
The AfD has previously opposed the extension of Tesla's German factory, while Reform has pledged to reverse a looming ban on the sale of gas and diesel cars in the UK, which is naturally set to benefit EV makers like Tesla.
The AfD is polling in second place at TK%, more than the 12.6% it won at the last election in 2021. Musk posted to X Thursday that it would win "an epic victory." Whether it makes predicted gains or not, it's unlikely to stop welcoming the support of the world's most outspoken billionaire.
