(Co-leader of German far-right party AfD Alice Weidel attends an AfD election campaign in front of the cathedral in Magdeburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi))
"It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election," German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann told reporters at a press briefing Monday.
Hoffmann said that Musk is free to express his opinion, adding: "After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense."
Musk has come under sharp criticism for his apparent endorsement for the Alternative for Germany political party just weeks before it holds snap parliamentary elections in February.
Musk has railed against German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this fall as a "fool."
Musk also praised the AfD last week on his social media platform, X, writing: "Only the AfD can save Germany."
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, D.C. (Allison Robbert/AFP/via Getty Images)
All mainstream German political parties have ruled out working with the AfD, and its youth wing was designated as a "confirmed extremist" group by Germany's domestic intelligence agency earlier this year.
The AfD, for its part, has rejected that characterization.
The pushback from U.S. and German officials has done little to deter Musk, who used his op-ed to argue that the German economy is crippled by regulatory overreach and bureaucracy, describing the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "the last spark of hope for this country."
"The traditional parties have failed in Germany," Musk wrote in the op-ed of Germany's SPD and other mainstream parties. "Their policies have led to economic stagnation, social unrest, and the erosion of national identity."
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The decision to run Musks's op-ed in a center-right newspaper was heavily criticized and prompted Welt am Sonntag's opinion editor, Eva Marie Kogel, to announce her resignation.
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/germany-accuses-elon-musk-trying-interfere-its-national-elections