How has billionaire Elon Musk weighed in global politics during 2024?!
Elon Musk's latest endorsement of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party sparked controversy weeks before the country's federal election, marking one of the billionaire's last comments on the global political scene.
The world's richest man wrote in an op-ed for a German newspaper earlier this month that he supports the AfD's position on energy, economic recovery and migration, principles he said "made Tesla and SpaceX successful ". In response, German government officials accused Musk of trying to influence the upcoming February 23 election. Here are some more examples of Musk weighing in on politics in Europe and elsewhere last year.
Musk on UK politics
Musk was recently photographed with Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK's populist Reform party, and Nick Candy, the party's treasurer, in front of a painting of Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago, the US president-elect's Florida estate. Some say the photo suggested Musk, who is already a key player in Trump's second administration, may turn his attention to UK politics.
Farage confirmed to British media in December that Musk was considering donating to his party. To block it, UK lawmakers could fast-track legislation to limit foreign political donations, according to the Guardian.
Under existing laws, Musk cannot make a personal donation because he is not registered to vote in the UK, but he could potentially contribute through X's UK subsidiary, which still continues to do business in the country, according to company data.
It's not the first time in 2024 that UK politicians are dealing with the fallout from Musk's comments. Earlier this year, Musk accused Britain of being a tyrannical police state and fueled tension in the UK by saying civil war was "inevitable" during this summer's riots in Southport.
The UK's communications regulator found soon after that there was a "clear link" between the role of social media posts and street violence during the riots. Musk has also endorsed UK far-right voices on his platform, such as extremist Tommy Robinson and Ashlea Simon, co-founder of the white supremacist group Britain First, according to the Financial Times.
Warning in Italy
Musk received a sharp warning from Italian President Sergio Mattarella to stop meddling in the country's affairs after a controversial tweet calling for judges to be fired.
A panel of Rome judges ruled in November that seven men detained in Albania under a new Italian-Albanian migration pact must be transferred back to Italy, a move widely seen as a blow to the country's prime minister's crackdown on irregular immigration. right wing Giorgia Meloni.
Musk suggested on X in the wake of the ruling that "these judges need to go." Musk wrote in a later tweet that the decision was "unacceptable" and questioned whether "the people of Italy live in a democracy or an unelected autocracy makes the decisions?" "Italy is a great democratic country and ... it knows how to take care of itself," Mattarella was reported to have said by CNN.
Andrea Stroppa, Musk's Italian representative, said in a statement at the time that Musk respects President Mattarella and the Italian constitution but "will continue to express his opinions freely."
'X' ban in Brazil leads to political protests
Musk has faced several legal challenges related to content moderation, but none as high-profile as his confrontation with Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian supreme court judge. It began when Musk fought a court order in April to remove more than 100 accounts that had been flagged for hate speech, misinformation or were deemed a threat to democracy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Musk accused de Moraes of "censorship" and removed the restrictions originally placed on the accounts. De Moraes ordered Musk to appoint a legal representative to the company. Failure to do so led to X being banned from Brazil on August 30 until the fines were paid.
The ban led to demonstrations by several thousand supporters of former president Bolsonaro. They said the ban was proof of their political persecution, according to the AP. The ban was eventually lifted just over a month later after X paid Brazil $5 million (€4.4 million) in fines.
Musk's political power in the US
Musk has also been busy in his adopted country of the United States, where he poured about $200 million (€191 million) into Trump's re-election campaign through America PAC, a super political action committee he created ahead of the U.S. election. November.
In the days leading up to November's US election, Musk also offered random voters in swing states $1 million (€957,000) if they pledged support for the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution for free speech and rights of weapons.
A day before the vote, a Pennsylvania judge ruled the lottery could go ahead. Shortly after Trump's victory, Musk was named co-head of a new outside organization called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will advise the White House on cutting red tape within the government. Musk also pushed the US government into a possible shutdown along with Trump by posting hundreds of misleading tweets about a bipartisan bill to fund government operations.
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