German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Elon Musk’s support for the far-right in Europe is “completely unacceptable”.
The comments add to Mr Scholz’s previous criticism of the Tesla chief’s interventions in the German election campaign.
Mr Musk has said over the past month that only the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) can “save Germany”.
Last week, the tech billionaire livestreamed on his social media platform X a chat with Alice Weidel, the party’s candidate for chancellor in Germany’s February 23 election, amplifying its message ahead of the vote.
His interest in Germany and politics elsewhere in Europe, after he poured money and energy into helping Donald Trump win the US election, has set off alarm bells among politicians across the continent.
Mr Scholz has said it is important to “stay cool” over personal attacks, but insisted Germany’s way forward “will not be decided by the owners of social media channels”, but by German voters.
Asked on Friday about Mr Musk’s interventions, the Chancellor said it is important to “criticise the right thing”.
“What we must criticize is not that a billionaire, or a billionaire from other countries in a global world, expresses his opinion — but what he says,” Mr Scholz said at a news conference.
“He supports the extreme right throughout Europe, in Britain, in Germany, in many, many other countries, and that is something that is completely unacceptable.”
“This endangers the democratic development of Europe, it endangers our community, and that must be criticised,” Mr Scholz added.
Polls show AfD in second place ahead of the election, with support of about 20%, but Ms Weidel has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the party.
Centre-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz also has criticised Mr Musk’s endorsement of AfD. Mr Merz’s Union bloc leads polls and he is the favourite to become Germany’s next leader.
