It is not news that Elon Musk had a large influence on the US 2024 elections. As the owner of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, Musk’s wealth and social status assisted his entrance into the political landscape. Especially through his social media platform X, Musk used hundreds of millions of dollars to promote and campaign for president-elect Donald Trump. Recently, however, Musk has turned his eyes toward expanding his political influence: specifically towards European politics.
Starting in early January, Elon Musk has actively voiced his support for Germany’s far-right party, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) or Alternative of Germany. In an audio livestream on X, Musk said, “Only AfD can save Germany … otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany.” The livestream was hosted alongside AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel. Within the livestream, Musk and Weidel discussed topics such as the Russia-Ukraine war and Trump’s return to the White House.
In addition, CNN reports that “Musk also called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ‘an anti-democratic tyrant’ after he spoke out against foreign interference during his speech on the dissolution of the country’s parliament… describing him as an ‘incompetent fool’ in a post on X.”
The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been another target of Musk’s critiques on social media. According to Reuters, Musk “[posted] messages on his social media site X accusing Starmer of what he said was a failure to prosecute gangs of men, mostly of a South Asian background, who raped young girls when he was a director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.” The exact wording of Musk’s comments aroused controversy when he accused Starmer of being “deeply complicit in the mass rapes for exchange for votes,” as per BBC.
CNBC also reports, “Musk accused the U.K. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips of being a ‘rape genocide apologist’ … [and called] for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be ousted and face jail time over how child grooming gangs and other criminals who targeted children have been prosecuted.”
France 24 adds that Musk “has long raged against the Labour prime minister, calling for Starmer to step down and for America to ‘liberate’ Britain.”
The US billionaire’s active involvement in European political affairs has sparked outrage from European leaders, namely in the UK and Germany. Furthermore, CNN adds that Germany’s “Social Democrats (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil [drew] comparisons between him and Russian President Vladmir Putin.”
The first to provide his stance on Musk’s continuous attacks was France’s Emmanuel Macron. According to the BBC, the president said, “Ten years ago, who would have believed it, if we had been told that the owner of one of the biggest social networks in the world would support a new, international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany?”
Other European leaders are greatly concerned about the immense amount of intervention and commentary that a US citizen is providing on foreign affairs. The Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store expressed that it is “worrying that a man with considerable access to social networks and significant economic resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Other European political figures have stated that as a social media platform, X should remain relatively neutral. Some fear that if the head of X directly promotes his political stances, the platform will become a political weapon. Some also add that Musk’s intervention oversteps the boundaries of allies.
Not long after the announced victory of president-elect Donald Trump, the House Budget Committee reported, “President Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),” which, according to Fox News, “is tasked with eliminating government spending, waste and streamlining efficiency and operations, and is expected to influence White House policy on budget matters.”
On January 17, Fox News announced that a 19-page report was released “claim[ing] that there is more than $120 billion annually spent on ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ initiatives like Agriculture Department grants and loans for minority farmers and ranchers — efforts the organization [DOGE] claims are unconstitutional.”
In response to the alleged budget cuts, CNN reports that “some [federal] workers are removing mentions of ‘policy’ decision-making and terms related to diversity programs from written job descriptions, duties, and performance reviews to protect the roles from possible cuts.”
As Trump reenters the White House, many find it hard to predict what other changes may be brought to US policies by Elon Musk’s appointment. As co-head of one of Trump’s advisory panels, legal experts and politicians abroad alike warn of the possible consequences and potential conflicts that lay ahead. Others emphasize their worries about how the newly acquired political power may elevate Elon Musk’s influence as he continues to utilize his social media platform X to push European far-right parties into the spotlight.
