Tech billionaire Elon Musk made a surprise virtual appearance during Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) election campaign event in Halle in eastern Germany on Saturday, as thousands of people gathered to show their support for the far-right party.
Addressing a hall of 4,500 people alongside party leader Alice Weidel, Musk spoke about preserving German culture and protecting the German people.
Musk spoke in support of the far-right party, saying: “I’m very excited for the AfD, I think you’re really the best hope for Germany. Something I think that is just very important is that people take pride in Germany and being German. This is very important. It’s OK to be proud to be German. This is a very important principle.”
“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk told onlookers.
Last week, Musk caused an uproar after he made a straight-arm, Nazi-like gesture during his speech at U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
On Saturday, he said, “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their parents, their great-grandparents,” apparently referring to Germany’s Nazi past.
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“I think there’s frankly too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that,” he said.
Musk told the crowd they should be “optimistic” and “excited” about Germany’s future, adding, “I hope your people unite and strongly support AfD.”
“Let’s go, guys! Let’s go! Fight for a great future for Germany, Go, go, go! Convince your friends. Convince everyone,” Musk said as the crowd clapped and cheered.
“I think this election coming up in Germany is incredibly important. I think it could decide the entire fate of Europe, maybe the fate of the world,” Musk added. “That is the significance of this election. That’s why it’s very important to talk to your friends and family and convince them to consider voting for AfD. And then just go with it like a chain reaction. Convince one friend, talk to another friend.”
Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed in November 2024 in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.
The Tesla CEO, who spoke of suppression of speech under Germany’s government on Saturday, has previously attacked Scholz on X.
Scholz said last Tuesday that he does not support freedom of speech when it is used for extreme-right views.
“We have the freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany. Everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire. And what we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme-right positions,” Scholz said in Davos when asked about Musk’s hand gesture during Trump’s inauguration festivities.
Musk dismissed the criticism as a “tired” attack. “Shame on Oaf Schitz,” Musk posted on X last Tuesday with a video clip shared by another user that showed Scholz speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort.
Musk also wrote a guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag — a sister publication of Politico owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German in December 2024.
“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary.
The world’s richest man went on to say the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.”
Musk also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition.
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—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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