Germany’s political and media establishment erupted in outrage after Elon Musk and opposition politician Alice Weidel on Thursday live-streamed a 75-minute-long conversation on X. Around 200,000 people tuned into Musk’s much-anticipated online talk with Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Almost 6 weeks before the German election, Musk opened the conversation with an endorsement of Weidel’s party. “I am strongly recommending that the people of Germany vote for AfD,” Musk said. “This is simply the sensible move. Nothing outrageous is being proposed – just common sense.”
“Only the AfD can save Germany – I want to be clear about that – only the AfD can save Germany,” he added, as the country faces rampant crime and uncontrolled mass migration.
Days ahead of the planned talk on X, the European Union threatened the duo with a probe. “When tech tycoon Elon Musk interviews German far-right leader Alice Weidel on X on Thursday night, Europe’s powerful tech regulators will be watching closely for possible violations of EU law,” Politico reported Thursday. “In particular, they’ll be evaluating whether X gives an unfair campaign advantage to Weidel’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over its rivals.”
The EU assigned an army of bureaucrats to ‘scrutinize’ the live stream for any possible wrongdoing. “A team of up to 150 European Commission officials in Brussels and Seville will help scrutinize whether Musk’s social media site plays by the European Union’s tech rules,” the news outlet added. “They wield far-reaching investigative powers that allow them to visit X’s offices and request access to its algorithm and internal correspondence.”
Ahead of the talk, the German parliament, the Bundestag, opened an investigation against Musk, alleging possible election meddling. “The Bundestag administration is examining whether Elon Musk would give the AfD an advantage through a live conversation with Alice Weidel,” German weekly Die Zeit reported Thursday.
“It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements.”
German government accused Musk of election meddling even before the X interview took place. Last week, German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann declared, “It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements.”
Germany’s state-run DW TV was disparaging in its review of the conversation. “The erroneous introduction from Musk was followed by a rambling 70-minute conversation, occasionally rendered awkward by language-based misunderstandings, that was punctuated with several wildly misleading claims,” DW TV complained. Both were “laughing at each other’s jokes,” the state TV commented. “Musk and Weidel spent much of the conversation agreeing with each other’s wild claims.”
“Did Elon Musk hosting AfD’s Alice Weidel go against German electoral regulations?” the German state TV asked.
The DW TV also ran a fact-check, finding seven supposed errors in the 75-minute-long conversation. Weidel’s “claim that Merkel ‘opened’ the borders is not accurate,” the broadcaster declared.
Germany’s state-run ARD broadcaster also ‘fact-checked’ the conversation, accusing the duo of making “[f]alse statements ranging from migration to National Socialism,” referring to Weidel’s comment that “Hilter was a leftist.”
“How dangerous is Elon Musk’s power?” Germany’s state-funded RBB broadcaster asked. “The world’s richest man is presently dominating the political debate in Germany,” the broadcaster lamented.
The conversation covered various topics, from government regulation to space exploration. “We had to print out 25,000 pages of paper to start Tesla’s factory in Germany,” Musk disclosed. Weidel blamed Merkel’s green energy policies and Germany’s nuclear exit for the rapid deindustrialization in Europe’s largest economy.
Asked about Israel, Weidel said it was “too complicated” for her to respond in the wake of the ongoing Middle East conflict. Musk rephrased the question and asked if she “unequivocally support[ed] the state of Israel.” Weidel replied, “Yes of course.”
Weidel continued, saying, “Benjamin Netanyahu has made many mistakes in the past.”
She switched over to talk about the need to “protect” Germany’s tiny and dwindling Jewish minatory, which is being “exposed to Muslim crime,” particularly in Berlin — referring to the wave of pro-Hamas protests since the October 7 attack. The “AfD is the only protector of the Jewish people” in Germany, she claimed, blaming the country’s establishment “uniparty” for importing Muslim Antisemitism by letting in millions of illegal immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East.
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