Elon Musk Endorses German Far-Right AFD Party Ahead of Upcoming Election

By Noah Cytrynbaum ‘28
Ahead of the upcoming German election, billionaire and co-head of Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk wrote an opinion article in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, declaring his support for the Alternative for Germany (AFD) party. 

In the op-ed, Musk endorsed what is known as a far-right party. He wrote, “The portrayal of the AFD as rightwing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” 
    This came after a post on X, which he owns, saying that, “only the AfD can save Germany.” In a speech to AFD supporters, he called to “preserve German culture” and “protect German people”. 
    In a virtual speech to AFD supporters, Musk said, “There’s maybe too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents.”
The Chair of Yad Vashem, Dani Dayan, called Musk’s statements, “An insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany.” 
    The essay prompted the opinion editor to resign; German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, commented, “​​Far more concerning than such insults is the fact that Musk supports a partly far-right party like the AfD, which advocates rapprochement with Putin's Russia and seeks to weaken trans-Atlantic relations,” and “As Social Democrats, we have been accustomed since the last century to wealthy media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics — and are not shy about expressing their opinions.” Musk said that given his “significant investment” into the country and its economy, he has the right to endorse German political parties. 
    The Alternative for Germany party, established in 2013, has gained lots of popularity, especially in Bavaria, where it won the state election. Some polls show it at 20% support among Germans. There is a fear among those in the current government that the AFD would be able to prevent a majority government from forming in the upcoming February snap election, though the other parties have stated their intention to shun the AFD from any coalition. 
    Germany’s domestic intelligence agency classifies the party as a “suspected extremist organization.” Some have criticized it as being Islamophobic and antisemitic. As an anti-immigration party, it has also supported policies that some say are against Islam, which many of the immigrants that enter are. 
AFD also supports a ban on, the import and sale of kosher meat in Germany, and some of its members have made controversial statements regarding the Holocaust, including that “Germans are the only people in the world who plant a monument of shame in the heart of the capital" and called it a "laughable policy of coming to terms with the past”. One study found that Holocaust denial is much more common within the party than in Germany. Multiple prominent leaders of Germany’s Jewish community expressed concerns that the AFD is antisemitic. 
Freshman Remy Friedberg commented, “I hear so many amazing things about Elon Musk and his accomplishments, but I’m shocked to hear that he would endorse a party like this.” 
Musk has also drawn criticism for allowing many far-right extremists, including neo-Nazis, back onto X after they were banned. 
Germany has strict rules and bans targeting fascist parties to prevent the rise of a regime similar to Nazi Germany. 
Musk was appointed by President Donald Trump to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Elon Musk is also CEO of Tesla, Founder and CEO of SpaceX, and numerous more companies.