Elon Musk supports AfD: Will the Tesla boss bring conflict to German elections?

Elon Musk supports AfD: Will the Tesla boss bring conflict to German elections?

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, shocked Europe with his clear support for the controversial German AfD party. During the last election decision in Germany, he urged users on his platform X to go to the polls and vote for the AfD by commenting on a post with the words “Your life depends on it” and replying with “Yes”. This happened on election day itself and shows Musk's tireless commitment to the party, which is classified as right-wing extremist by the German security services oe24 reported.

Influencing German politics

During a conversation with AfD top candidate Alice Weidel, Musk denounced the difficult bureaucratic hurdles he had to overcome when opening his Tesla factory in Germany. “We needed 25,000 pages for our approval,” he recalled, expressing his incomprehension about Germany’s exit from nuclear energy, which he described as “one of the craziest decisions.” They also discussed controversial topics, including the discussion about Adolf Hitler, with Weidel trying to free the AfD from the stigma of being associated with the Nazis, stating: "Hitler was a communist, we are a conservative libertarian party," such as USA Today reported.

Musk's support poses a significant challenge to Europe's democratic structures. While the AfD is in second place in the polls, its ability to govern is being severely questioned as other parties refuse to cooperate. Nevertheless, critics fear that Musk's prominence could help the right-wing party gain a popularity boost, which could further destabilize the political landscape in Germany.