Elon Musk has had a busy fortnight. On 20 December 2024, he posted on X: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” His endorsement of the Alternative for Germany was accompanied by an all-out conspiratorial monologue from 24-year-old Naomi Seibt, the German hard-right darling often caricatured as “anti-Greta”. A few days later, he even invited the AfD’s co-leader Alice Weidel to appear as a guest on a Space on X.
What began as another questionable shift by Musk towards European politics before Christmas has now escalated dramatically. He unleashed an all-out tirade against the Labour government on X, leaping upon the grooming gangs scandal, demanding an immediate election, calling for Jess Phillips to be imprisoned and insisting that Nigel Farage be removed as the leader of Reform UK. How did we get here? And are these European interventions connected?
Qui tacet consentire videtur – he who is silent is seen to consent. For years, mainstream media outlets hesitated to confront the growing reality of Musk’s unchecked power. Instead, they chose to downplay the obvious, avoiding the harsh truth and refusing to label him for what he unquestionably is: a political propagandist with hard-right sympathies. Musk’s descent into extremism is now becoming evident. His spreading of QAnon conspiracy theories and the most dangerous strands of Covid-19 misinformation served as indicators. By August 2024, his global platform was solidified, from which he helped to circulate the Islamophobic, anti-migrant riots in the UK.
The narrative unfolding in 2025 is far from simple – it is a dangerous international convergence. The lines between the American and European hard right are rapidly blurring, with Musk taking advantage of this overlap to push his warped vision of free speech. Whether promoting his plan to “save” the US from the so-called “woke mind virus”, attacking “globalist” elites, or issuing support for white pride movements, he wields X as a powerful megaphone, amplifying some of the most toxic narratives that threaten to poison public discourse.
Whatever Musk’s personal motivations, the result is an increasingly coordinated global hard-right movement. However, Musk’s limitations as a political leader or figurehead are impossible to overlook. His complete ignorance of European politics was laid bare in his clueless op-ed (or perhaps his attempt at an official endorsement of the AfD) in Die Welt, a newspaper he embarrassingly misnamed “Weld”. But the true danger lies not in Musk’s ignorance, but in the silence of Europe’s leaders. Beyond briefly slapping down Musk’s remarks yesterday (6 January) Keir Starmer has avoided any more substantial confrontation. Olaf Scholz has done the same, either too unwilling or perhaps too incapable to challenge Musk’s power, leaving a dangerous void of accountability.
But Musk’s patronage will very soon be tested in the real world. All eyes are now on February’s election in Germany, which will serve as the first crucial test of his power to reshape Europe’s political future and steer hard-right parties towards power. With the AfD surging in the polls, the stakes have never been higher. Should these numbers translate into electoral success, it will mark a vital moment, vindicating Musk’s keyboard crusade. And if victorious, this new European right could also reshape the European Union itself, which could well be the next frontier for Musk’s own influence. From Britain to Germany to the Cypriot YouTuber-turned-MEP he has proposed for “EU President”, Elon Musk appears to have designs across the entire continent.
[See also: How does Starmer solve a problem like Elon Musk?]
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