Elon Musk Praises German Far-Right AfD As ‘Only’ Party That Can ‘Save’ Country

Elon Musk openly threw his support behind the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) as the only political party that can “save” Germany in a post that triggered sharp backlash from the country’s other political parties.

The endorsement [...] was made Friday in a post on X and appeared above a retweeted video by Naomi Seibt, a German right-wing influencer.

[Text of tweet]

Elon Musk

@elonmusk
Only the AfD can save Germany

The move outraged Germany’s centrist parties, who have vowed to exclude the AfD from any governing coalition. The country is set to head to the polls on February 23 next year following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left coalition—a political climate that has the AfD polling second and potentially wielding kingmaker influence.

Although the AfD’s platform is widely viewed as far-right and anti-immigration, Alice Weidel, the party’s chancellor candidate, enthusiastically received Musk’s remark.
Replying on X, she wrote: “Yes! You are perfectly right!” before touting her recent interview on how “socialist [Angela] Merkel ruined our country” and referring to “the Soviet European Union” as a destructive force for Germany.

The German government remained tight-lipped, noting it was aware of Musk’s statement but declining further comment. [...]

[...]

It’s not the first time Musk has offered his approval of the AfD. Last year [he] questioned [why] the party was labelled extremist: “Why is there such a negative reaction from some about AfD? They keep saying ‘far right,’ but the policies of AfD that I’ve read about don’t sound extremist. Maybe I’m missing something.”

Musk’s is also reportedly entertaining talks with Trump ally Nigel Farage’s Reform party in the UK about possible financial backing—an option off the table in Germany, where foreign donations to political parties are capped at €1,000.