On October 2, 2020, its then chancellor Germany Angela Merkel hailed Tesla’s plan to build a gigafactory in Brandenburg as a “role model”. On March 22, 2022, her successor, Olaf Solzwas inaugurating the operation of the factory alongside its owner, Elon Musk which then wrote in “X”: “Thank you, Germany!”.

On November 24, 2024, Mrs. Merkel characterized the imminent participation of Mr. Musk slams Trump administration as “extremely problematic” as it owns 60% of all satellites. And on December 19, 2024, the billionaire himself declared that “only the AfD can save Germany.”

A few days later, “WELT”, the former (?) flagship of the publishing house Axel Springer, published an opinion piece, in which the billionaire and close associate of Donald Trump analyzed his preference for the “Alternative to Germany”, arguing that it is “the last spark of hope” for the country, which is “on the brink of economic and cultural destruction”.

He also expressed admiration for the AfD’s positions on immigration and economic deregulation. In his posts on “X” he had in the meantime managed to vulgarly insult Ms. Merkel, to call Olaf Scholz an “incompetent idiot” and to call the federal president an “anti-democratic tyrant” because he heard somewhere that he supposedly intends to … cancel the result of the upcoming elections.

Monopoly

About seven weeks before the election, the public debate in Germany is dominated by someone who has no right to participate in it either as a candidate or as a voter. AfD leader Alice Weidel celebrates strong ally, Chancellor Olaf Solz shows – for some too much – calm in defending the right to speak, “even to say nonsense” and the chancellor-dominant leader of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) Friedrich Merz talks about “interference” and “impertinence” cm part of Elon Musk.

The debate now boils down to whether a powerful businessman with political power is allowed to make direct election recommendations in a foreign country, whether the newspaper should give him the go-ahead to do so, and whether and to what extent his intervention will ultimately affect the outcome of the elections. elections of 23 February. The reflection on the real intentions of Mr. Musk, his ultimate purpose and motivation is simply absent.

Incentives

Despite the ease and fervor with which he usually delivers provocative and blatant political commentary via the ‘X’ platform, the world’s richest man has so far proven that his own personal financial gain is on his mind first. If the AfD’s views on “limiting government over-regulation, reducing taxes and deregulating the market” were to prevail, Tesla’s factory in Germany, the company’s first in Europe, would be in for even bigger profits.

In addition, with the former “Twitter” now acting as the ideological guide or … hyper-troll of far-right forces everywhere and setting the agenda of global debate, Elon Musk gains enormous power, even more than he can hold. his 200 million followers are “translated”.

He already financially and politically supported the election of Donald Trump, while he said that he is looking for a legal way to allocate 95 million euros to the election campaign of the right-wing populist Nigel Farage.

In years past, for many Germans, Elon Musk was a genius entrepreneur who managed to turn the auto industry upside down, spark a global revolution with electrification and look the other way – if not downright – at his established German companies. sector.

To others he was just an eccentric conservative egomaniac, conspiracy theorist, ungrateful oligarch, living proof that a very high IQ is not always a good thing. Today, more and more people are disturbed by his style and feel offended by the “audacity” with which he criticizes “in foreign affairs”.

As the magazine Der Spiegel revealed, behind the publication of the opinion article in WELT there is an unprecedented background, with “mutiny” of editors, threats of editors-in-chief and resignations of executives. Even further back, there is a curious, if not suspicious, relationship between the head of Axel Springer Matthias Deppner and Elon Musk. “Why don’t you buy Twitter? Just kidding,” the German had once suggested to him through a public post. He later described him as “the greatest visionary on the planet.”

After that, freedom of expression was added to the discussion, but also the ethics of the media, which “must be careful where they step”. “Journalists should not become mouthpieces of oligarchs,” demanded the Association of German Journalists.

Risk

The real danger from Elon Musk’s interventions, however, is not the damage to WELT’s credibility or the defamation of Germany. Even if the support it gives to the AfD does not include a financial dimension, it gives it an extremely valuable advertisement and legitimacy at the most critical moment. Some who may have been troubled by the party’s simplistic and populist approach to current affairs, by its lack of leadership training and in-depth positions on areas other than immigration, can now give themselves an excuse: “The richest man on the planet and a one of the smartest suggests that we vote for AfD, he can’t, he’ll know something…”. Thanks to Mr. Musk, the AfD secures new arguments and a face to appeal to a new audience.

So how does one deal with someone who is worth over $420 billion, controls a massively popular social media platform, 60% of the satellites in space and a seat in the US cabinet? Probably not in the terms known so far. And certainly not with threats, anger and “faces” or with warnings like the latest one from Economy Minister Robert Habeck through Spiegel: “Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!”.

Democracy in Germany is endangered by the support for the AfD just as it was endangered in the USA by the repeated declarations of support of German politicians and the media for Kamala Harris. But it can be at risk of getting into the wrong hands media that can steer public opinion, spread fake news, spy on citizens, and even finance foreign campaigns. Tellingly, “X” has lost about 80% of its value and over 1.5 million users since it took over, but it has increased its influence, which is expected to multiply further on January 20, when the Elon Musk will take over the US Department of Government Efficiency, in a venture that is expected with great interest – and anxiety – across the planet.

In Germany, “what counts is the will of the citizens and not the foreign statements of a billionaire from the USA”, said Olaf Scholz the day before yesterday, in the hope that on February 23 his own logic will prevail. Before that, next Thursday, Elon Musk will talk in the “X” with the leader of the AfD, Alice Weidel and probably give her the first “victory”. Millions of eyes inside and outside Germany will turn on her. But Berlin should have learned well who it is dealing with: someone who loves chaos and does not hesitate to create it.