Musk hosts German far-right leader on X ahead of election

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has live-streamed his chat with a leader of Germany's far-right party, using the power of his social media platform, X, to amplify the party's message ahead of an upcoming national election — and raising concerns across Europe about the world's richest man trying to influence foreign politics.

In a wide-ranging, sometimes stilted conversation that touched on immigration, German bureaucracy, energy policy, space colonisation, God, and Adolf Hitler, Musk and AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel on Thursday shared their view that the AfD is the answer to Germany's malaise.

"People really need to get behind AfD, otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany," Musk claimed.

"In fact, I, as I've said publicly, I think only AfD can save Germany. And I just want to be very clear about that: Only AfD can save Germany, end of story," he said.

Musk was doubling down on his endorsement last month of the anti-immigration, anti-Islam party labelled as right-wing-extremist by German security services, which has caused consternation in Berlin and accusations of undue influence.

The AfD has almost no chance of forming a government despite polling in second place as other parties refuse to work with it. Still, critics worry that Musk's support for the AfD could further bolster its popularity, eroding support for mainstream parties and making it harder for them to form a coherent coalition.

Speaking in English, Weidel expressed gratitude for Musk's support and thanked him for the opportunity to speak on his platform.

Musk's influence

Last week, the German government accused Musk of attempting to influence the country's election campaign by showing his support for AfD.

While he is free to express his opinion, "in fact, Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements," deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a press briefing in Berlin.

Elections are decided by the voters when they vote and are a German matter, she stressed.

Leaders across Europe have expressed alarm over Musk's political activities in recent days, with some urging the EU to use its laws more robustly to guard the continent's democracies from outside influence.

The European Commission has said it will look at the discussion as part of its ongoing probe into X and possible violations of its Digital Services Act for potentially giving preferential treatment to "certain types of content."