WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk live-streamed his chat with a leader of Germany’s far-right party on Thursday, using the power of his social media platform, X, to amplify the party’s message ahead of an upcoming national election — and raising concerns across Europe about the world’s richest man trying to influence foreign politics.
Musk, who worked last year to help reelect Donald Trump in the United States, told Alice Weidel, a co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party and its candidate for chancellor, that he was “strongly recommending that people vote for AfD,” using the party’s acronym. More than 190,000 X accounts tuned into the conversation.
Musk and Weidel agreed that Germany’s taxes are too high, that there is too much immigration and that it was a mistake for the country to shut down nuclear power plants.
The AfD has been put under observation by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency for suspected extremism, and mainstream parties have shunned working with it. The AfD has strongly rejected the designation, portraying it as a political attempt to discredit the party.
Musk and Weidel emphasized the importance of free speech, and Weidel used the topic as an opportunity to refute the idea that the AfD shares any affinity with the country’s Nazi past. She said one of Adolf Hitler’s first acts after seizing power was to restrict speech. She then emphasized that the AfD holds libertarian views, and contrasted that with Hitler, who she noted had nationalized Germany’s economy.
Musk has previously used X to endorse AfD, and he authored an article for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, claiming Germany under center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz is “teetering on the edge of economic and cultural collapse.” Germany’s election is scheduled for Feb. 23.
The forays into politics by the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive is raising alarm across Europe.
In addition to endorsing the AfD, Musk has demanded the release of jailed U.K. anti-Islam extremist Tommy Robinson and called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer an evil tyrant who should be in prison. In Poland, there are concerns he could use his influence to interfere in the country’s presidential election in May.
The chat between Musk and Weidel was being monitored by watchdogs from the European Commission, which has accused X of violating the 27-nation bloc’s sweeping digital rulebook for cleaning up social media platforms and protecting internet users from online harm.
Commission officials say Musk has the right to express his views but that the rulebook — known as the Digital Services Act — is designed to rein in risks that platforms will be misused to amplify illegal content, including hate speech or election-related misinformation.
The commission has been investigating whether X complies. In preliminary findings issued last year, Brussels said the platform was in breach because its blue checkmarks originally intended as verification badges are deceptive, and because it falls short on transparency and accountability requirements. Regulators are still investigating other possible offenses.
In Germany, the AfD has risen in popularity, with polls showing that it has grown to be the second-most popular party in the country after mainstream conservatives as a taboo around the far right weakens across Europe. Still, the mainstream conservative Christian Democrats are favored to win the election, with the latest polling showing them at 31% support, compared with 20% for the AfD.
AfD was formed in 2013 and has moved steadily to the right. Its platform initially centered on opposition to bailouts for struggling eurozone members, but its vehement opposition to then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow in large numbers of refugees and other migrants in 2015 established the party as a significant political force.
AfD’s support has grown as a result of discontent with center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government. It’s rising popularity also reflects a growing frustration with Germany’s involvement with the European Union and NATO and its strong alliance with the United States, which are viewed as eroding national sovereignty.
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AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.
