Elon Musk: Tesla founder praises far-right German AfD party flagged as ‘extremist’

Elon Musk on Friday voiced his support for Alternative for Germany, a far-right German political party that has been classified by German intelligence as a suspected extremist organisation.

The billionaire Tesla founder wrote in a post on X, the social media platform he owns: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”

Musk tweets frequently, opining on politics and business, posting memes or sharing praise from fans. But recently, as he has grown cozier with President-elect Donald Trump, his opinions have carried more weight in the offline world: On Wednesday, he tanked efforts in Congress to pass a spending bill aiming to avert a government shutdown.

In the weeks before Trump takes office, Musk has become a close adviser to Trump, often spending time with him at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s Florida residence. He has joined Trump’s calls with foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

That has elevated Musk’s posts on X to an insightful window on how one of the president-elect’s closest advisers sees politics and policy.

The AfD endorsement comes ahead of German elections in February, following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s loss in a vote of confidence on Monday.

AfD is leading a resurgence of the far-right in Germany. The party is considered by Germany’s domestic intelligence service to be a suspected extremist organization. Its youth arm and regional branches in three states are designated as extremist.

Musk’s public praise for such a party is another marker in his rightward shift in recent years.

Since buying the platform then known as Twitter in 2022, Musk has increasingly used the social media site to blast out his right-wing political views to his more than 200 million followers. He used X as a vehicle to align himself with Trump during the 2024 election, as he frequently posted support for the former president’s views on crime, immigration and the economy.

Musk’s political engagement on the platform has increased dramatically in recent months: Nearly 40 percent of his posts in October and November focused on electoral politics, according to a Post analysis, a sharp uptick compared with previous months.

The billionaire entrepreneur has the loudest online voice in U.S. politics, and an unprecedented ability to reach millions with a few flicks of his thumbs.

Since Election Day, Musk has used X to pressure the incoming administration on Cabinet picks, promoted the nongovernmental “efficiency” commission he will co-chair for Trump and polled users on whom Senate Republicans should choose as majority leader.

Musk contributed $US277 million to support Trump and other Republicans in the election, and has been almost constantly at Trump’s side since. Since the election, Musk’s influence on the right has grown so significantly that some Democrats have dubbed him a “shadow president.”

Globally, Musk has also used X to show his support for some of the most prominent and polarizing figures of the right. He frequently posts about his support for Argentine President Javier Milei, whom he met with at a Tesla factory in Texas.

He was invited to a live online appearance with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and said on X this summer that he plans to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (though no date was announced). Each are populist figures, who are bolstered by online armies that have been accused of spreading disinformation.

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