ICYMI: Yes, Elon Musk Likes Nazis

“Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote on Twitter around 2 a.m. on December 20. The Alternativ für Deutschland—is the far-right German party considered neo-Nazi by many in Germany. While the AfD is still a legal party in Germany, its neo-Nazi credentials are clear: 

[CNN Business] “The AfD, which has recently seen its popularity swell, has touted populist and anti-immigrant ‘Germany first’ positions. But the party has also been accused of resurrecting Nazi-era ideology and slogans. In May, a judge ruled that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency could continue to keep the the AfD under surveillance for the alleged threat it poses to German democracy, rejecting a challenge by the party.

“Its youth arm, the Young Alternative (JA), has been designated by German authorities as a ‘confirmed extremist’ organization. The party’s lead candidate in the eastern German state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, was convicted earlier this year after breaking German laws against uttering Nazi slogans in public.” 

Musk said that he knows the party’s policies have been criticized as extreme, but they “don’t sound extremist. Maybe I’m missing something.”  

Maybe he is. That wouldn’t be the first time.

His very public endorsements of AfD come as Germany prepares for elections, and are also seen as election interference.  Germany will hold an election on February 23, 2025, and opinion polls show the AfD in second place. 

[The Guardian] “The AfD is running in second place in opinion polls. Elements of the party have been classed as rightwing extremists by Germany’s domestic intelligence services, and mainstream parties have vowed to refuse to work with the AfD at national level. …

“At a press conference in Berlin, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz responded indirectly to the post, saying: ‘We have freedom of speech here. That also applies to multimillionaires. Freedom of speech also means that you’re able to say things that aren’t right and do not contain good political advice.’

“The German former MEP Elmar Brok dismissed Musk’s comment as ‘the world domination fantasies of the American tech kings.’”

Election interference is also not a first for Musk. 

[CNN Business] “Musk has increasingly thrown his support behind far-right causes in Europe. Earlier this year, Musk agitated anti-immigration riots in the UK, writing on his social media platform that ‘civil war is inevitable’ in response to a post blaming the violent demonstrations on the effects of ‘mass migration and open borders.’

“Earlier this week, Nigel Farage, the far-right populist British politician and Trump ally, said Musk was considering funding his Reform UK party.”