Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk causing chaos after backup Germany's far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of the country's main parliamentary elections in Western Europe, which led to the paper's opinion editor resigning in protest.
Germany is due to vote in a snap election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to handle the economy. stab the country's recovery.
Musk's guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag – a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group – published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated statement.
He went on to say that the far-right party “can lead the country to a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.
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The CEO of Tesla Motors also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country's situation.
The AfD is polling strongly, but the candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no reasonable chance of becoming chancellor as other parties refuse to work with the far-right party away.
The technology billionaire challenged his views on the party's public image.
“The image of the AfD as a right-wing terrorist is obviously wrong, because party leader Alice Weidel has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Try it!”
Musk's statement has led to a debate in the German media about the limits of free speech, with the paper's own opinion editor announcing her resignation, particularly on Musk's social media platform, X.
“I have always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I introduced my position yesterday after it was printed,” wrote Eva Marie Kogel.
Musk's opinion piece was accompanied by a critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard.
“Musk's diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is very wrong,” wrote Burgard.
Responding to a request for comment from the German News Agency, dpa, the Welt group's editor-in-chief, Ulf Poschardt, and Burgard – who is to take over on January 1 – said in a joint statement that the the discussion of Musk's piece “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.”
“This will continue to determine the compass of the “world” in the future. We will develop “Die Welt” even more precisely as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.
Musk nodded gravely into the 2024 US presidential election, putting millions into the election of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump rewarded him after the election with naming Musk to lead the newly created Department of Government Effectiveness, or DOGE, by Vivek Ramaswamy.
Musk and Ramaswamy were engaged over the weekend on X, the social media platform Musk owns, over the H-1B visa, which is sent to skilled workers. Musk, who came to the US on an H-1B visa, defended the use of the policy amid backlash from Laura Loomer and other Trump supporters who support tough immigration policies.
In an interview with Mr New York PostTrump said he “always liked the visas,” even though he tried to change the program during his first visit.
“I have a lot of H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I've used it many times. It's a good program,” Trump told his ' newspaper.
