German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, January 17, said US tech billionaire Elon Musk is threatening democracy in Europe with his attacks on the continent's leaders and support for the far right.
"He supports the far right across Europe – in the UK, Germany and many other countries. This is something that is completely unacceptable, that endangers the democratic development of Europe," Scholz said.
Musk, the world's richest man, has provoked fury across Europe with a string of attacks on the continent's leaders, including Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Musk, who used his influence and vast wealth to help propel Donald Trump to victory in the White House race, has also been vocal in his support for Germany's far-right AfD before snap elections in Germany on February 23.
Scholz on Friday said he was not criticizing the fact that "a billionaire from another country is speaking his mind in a global world." But "his partisanship for the extreme right, whether out of business interests or for reasons that have something to do with his own political stance, that is unacceptable," Scholz said.
Musk earlier this month hosted Alice Weidel, the AfD's candidate to be the German chancellor, for a wide-ranging livestream on his X social media platform. He also boosted the livestream of an AfD congress by sharing it on his own X account, helping it gain a worldwide audience.
Dozens of EU lawmakers this week expressed "deep concern" over Musk's interference in European politics in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.