Billionaire interest in Europe divides opinion – while other leaders raise fears, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni insists there is 'no danger'.
Elon Musk has urged German voters to support the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in next month's national election in a broadcast with the party's leader.
A United States tech billionaire, who is supposed to have a role in the administration of the US President-elect Donald Trumphe showed his conversation with Alice Weidel, the Chancellor's candidate for the AfD, through his website X on Thursday.
More than 190,000 X accounts were posted on the chat, which saw Musk introduce Weidel as “the leading German leader”, warning viewers to vote for the party “otherwise things will be very bad for Germany”.
“Only AfD can save Germany. End of story,” he said.
Musk, who is expected to have an advisory role in the Trump administration, has been increasingly supporting right-wing parties in Europe, showing a strong interest in the economy of Germany, where he opened his car company Tesla's first plant in Europe in 2022.
During the chat, Mr Musk acknowledged his endorsement of the AfD, an anti-immigrant, anti-Islam party, after sharing it with him in the past. thoughts in the X's and opinions published by the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Musk and Weidel agreed that Germany was plagued by “crazy” power policies, excessive leadership and uncontrollable immobility, comparing the media's treatment of the AfD to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's anti-Jewish rhetoric in the 1930s.
“People tend to criticize things they don't agree with,” said Musk, who insisted that Weidel wanted “no offense”.
Musk, a self-proclaimed libertarian, has called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier “brutal” in his criticism of the AfD and called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to resign after a deadly car attack at a German Christmas market last month.
Both men belong to the centre-left Social Democrats.
'Lies are lies'
Leaders across Europe were alarmed by Musk's political meddling. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Musk of insulting democracy, without naming him directly, while France's foreign minister urged the European Union to enforce its rules more strictly against foreign interference.
But the Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloniwho leads the far-right Italian Brotherhood party, defended Musk on Thursday.
“I don't see a threat to democracy. Elon Musk is a famous and rich person who speaks his mind,” he said.
Meloni's government is currently evaluating a defense deal involving Starlink, part of Musk's SpaceX venture.
The Italian leader says that Italy is facing the problem of how to protect its sensitive communications because currently there are no other Italian or EU-supported Starlink systems.
But the project has been heavily criticized by opposition parties who question whether the management of the messages should be handed over to Musk's company.
“Is the problem with SpaceX being a private company, or is it Elon Musk's political views?” Meloni asked.