Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, arrives to speak to the media with AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla shortly after the AfD leadership confirmed Weidel as the party’s candidate for chancellor on December 07, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.
Maryam Majd | Getty Images
Elon Musk used his social network X to promote Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Thursday, hosting a live discussion with party leader Alice Weidel, a candidate for chancellor.
“I’m really strongly recommending that people vote for AfD,” Musk, who is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in addition to his role at X, said about a half hour into the conversation. “That’s my strong recommendation.”
The AfD has been classified as a “suspected extremist organization” by German domestic intelligence services. The party’s platform calls for rigid asylum laws, mass deportations, cuts to social and welfare support in Germany, and the reversal of restrictions on combustion engine vehicles.
Thierry Breton, former European commissioner for the internal market, said in a post on X on Jan. 4, that a live discussion would give AfD and Weidel, “a significant and valuable advantage over your competitors.”
AfD previously protested the build out of Tesla’s electric vehicle factory outside of Berlin, in part because the factory would provide jobs to people who were not German citizens.
Musk is promoting AfD ahead of a German general election on Feb. 23. While AfD has amassed about 20% of public support, according to reporting from broadcaster DW, the party is unlikely to form part of a coalition government, as most other parties have vowed not to work with it.
Musk’s earlier endorsements of AfD, including tweets complimenting the party, and an editorial in a German newspaper, have enraged European government officials. Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, has also endorsed far-right and anti-establishment candidates and causes in the U.K.
Political leaders in France, Germany, Norway and the U.K. denounced his influence, NBC News previously reported, warning that Musk should not involve himself in their countries’ elections.
Musk, who was one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top backers in November’s election, previously promoted Trump in a live-streamed discussion on X. Before that, he hosted a conversation with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary.
This story is developing
— CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report.
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