BERLIN – U.S. billionaire Elon Musk’s endorsement of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is a “logical and systematic” move to weaken Europe, according to Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck. In his New Year’s address, Habeck, the Greens party’s chancellor candidate for the upcoming national elections in February, criticized Musk’s actions.
Habeck stated that Musk’s support for the AfD is not out of ignorance but a deliberate strategy to undermine European regulation. “Musk is strengthening those who are weakening Europe. A weak Europe is in the interest of those for whom regulation is an inappropriate limitation of their power,” he added.
On Monday, the German government accused Musk, who owns social media platform X and is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, of attempting to influence the upcoming election through a guest opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. Musk, the world’s richest person, has been tasked by President-elect Donald Trump to prune the federal budget as a special adviser and spent over $250 million to help Trump get elected.
Musk’s endorsement of the AfD, which he described as Germany’s last hope, prompted the resignation of the newspaper’s commentary editor in protest. He praised the party’s anti-establishment, anti-immigrant stance on regulation, taxes, and market deregulation.