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World’s richest man. Tesla and SpaceX founder. And now, more recently, US President Donald Trump’s ‘buddy’ who was tasked with leading the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in November: American billionaire Elon Musk has donned many hats in the recent years, which makes him anything but non-vocal about the issues he feels rather strongly toward. And the tech mogul’s latest post on X (formerly Twitter), a social media platform he took over in 2022, is only a testament to that.
🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪 AfD! 🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
Advertisement · Scroll to continue— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2025
‘AfD!’ That’s what Musk wrote in a post just few hours ahead of a crucial vote to elect the new Parliament in Germany.
Alternative fuer Deutschland or the AfD as it’s popularly called, is a far-right and right-wing populist political party in Germany that has seemingly seized on an opportunity “to normalise themselves”, using the Trump administration 2.0 as their yardstick.
According to The Washington Post, Musk has posted about AfD and its leaders “more than 70 times on X”, promoting the controversial party to millions of his followers.
“To see the biggest power in the world has a far-right leadership, this tells them, ‘okay, we can achieve this goal as well,’” Matthais Quent, a researcher and author on extremism, in particular the AfD and Germany’s far right, recently told CNN in an interview.
Interestingly, Musk surprised many by addressing the campaign launch for the AfD party earlier this month, as thousands reportedly protested against the rise of the controversial group.
Musk was also closely associated with many far-right accounts via comments and reposts, Jan Rathje, senior researcher at the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, told Germany’s state-owned broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Speaking on the ‘deemed alliance’ between Musk and the AfD, Quent further told the publication, “The AfD has never had such open support by a whole government, or by a guy next to the government. They had support from very rich people in Europe and from Germany, but it was hidden and not public… he helps them to be seen as a normal political party which is the narrative of all far-right populist movements in the world”.
When Musk Found Himself At The Center of Controversies
Hoping to have some sway in the national elections, Musk has, in recent days, made several controversial remarks, including during a campaign event in Halle when he repeatedly stressed that the AfD was Germany’s “best hope”.
“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” he had said.
In another such instance, the American billionaire went on suggesting that there’s “too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that.” His remarks came as the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz camp complex were held last month.
‘Musk Should Face Political or Legal Consequences’
While Musk’s comments vexed Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was quick to label his words “disgusting”, Quent, on the other hand, opined that the “AfD’s rise may be more accurately attributed to the weakness of the government and how social debates are focusing on the hot-button AfD issues, such as immigration”.
German officials too have reacted strongly to the latest developments, with many accusing the Trump administration of election interference.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, reportedly asserted that “Musk should face political or legal consequences”.
Notably, Germany’s larger parties have—for the longest time—been in agreement over refusal to form a government or pass laws with AfD assistance. In fact, the country’s intelligence is believed to have classified the party as a “suspected extremist organization”.
But What Could Be the Extent of Musk’s Potential Influence in the Polls?
While AfD leader Alice Weidel’s followers’ count significantly rose on X since Musk started engaging, a large chunk of her new followers do not appear to be German, the Washington Post report that cited data analysis said, suggesting that Musk’s promotion of the party on X could have “limited impact on Sunday’s voting”.
“The Musk bump is real. He has significantly amplified the AfD leader on X. But the data also shows that that amplification is primarily within an English-language audience,” Mark Scott, senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) told the US publication.
Stressing that it was important to talk about Musk, Rathje told DW that “he has a lot of resources that he can turn into power.” Notably, has over 218 Million followers on X, which is essentially why his posts reach millions of users worldwide.
We currently see how Musk is transforming his economic power into political power, Rathje further said in the fact-check report carried by the German publication.
Many also believe that Musk is increasingly engaging in misinformation campaigns on the German election.
Furthermore, the DW report cited recent studies to underline how posts by Musk and right-wing users “were favored by the X algorithm”, and how several institutions and people have already quit the social media platform.
Rathje, however, added that “we should not underestimate how people who are still undecided and are still active on the platform can be influenced by such posts”.
While Musk’s involvement in German politics has sent shockwaves across Europe, especially fueling an already spiraling legal dispute between X and the European Union, multiple opinion polls have suggested that Musk remains unpopular in Germany, with the tech mogul gaining just 19 percent approval ratings in a survey conducted in January.
Even as observers of the German election have raised concerns over Musk’s involvement, saying it could set an unwelcome precedent, the extent of the impact that Musk’s promotion of the party could have on the election, therefore, largely remains uncertain.
“I think, in the short term, very few Germans will vote for the AfD just because an American billionaire tells them, “This is the last salvation”, The Washington Post quoted Thorsten Benner, director of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute, as saying.
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