Musk calls AfD ‘last spark of hope’ for Germany in op-ed in Welt

Tech billionaire Elon Musk doubled down on his support for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, calling it the “last spark of hope” for the country, in an opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Musk’s piece, which expanded on his endorsement of the AfD on X last week, was posted online on Saturday and prompted the editor of the newspaper’s opinion section to resign in protest. Welt is a sister publication of POLITICO in the Axel Springer Group.

Saying Germany is on “the brink of economic and cultural collapse,” the owner of automaker Tesla and social media platform X wrote that the “AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of its former self.”

Musk, a close adviser to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, argued that his “significant investments” in Germany give him the right to speak out about Europe’s largest economy.

“The traditional parties have failed in Germany,” Musk wrote. “The AfD, even though it is described as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel their concerns are ignored by the establishment,” he said. 

“Portraying the AfD as far-right is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Come on!” Musk said in the piece.

Musk’s endorsement of the far-right party has triggered a backlash in the run-up to snap elections in Germany set for Feb. 23, which are projected to be won by a conservative alliance, with Friedrich Merz likely to become the next chancellor, succeeding Olaf Scholz.

Shortly after Musk’s commentary was posted online on Saturday, Welt’s opinion editor, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the piece.

“Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag,” Kogel wrote in her post. “I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.”

On Dec. 20, Musk endorsed the AfD in a post on his X platform, writing: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” That prompted an outcry among mainstream German leaders, with Chancellor Scholz saying “freedom of speech also means you can say things that are not right and do not contain good political advice.”

Musk has recently backed populist-right politicians in Europe in increasingly clear terms, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

The AfD is polling in second place at 19 percent ahead of Germany’s early election in February, potentially setting it up to become the largest opposition party in the next parliament. Germany’s conservative alliance leads the race by a wide margin with 31 percent.