Politics

German Chancellor Slams ‘Disgusting’ Elon Musk After Salute Debacle

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also went on to condemn comments Musk made on German guilt toward the Holocaust.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz receives Chilean President Gabriel Boric at the Chancellery the day after European parliamentary elections on June 10, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again criticised billionaire Elon Musk, calling the tech mogul’s latest show of support for the German far right “disgusting.”

Speaking to CNN Tuesday, Scholz slammed Musk’s involvement in Germany’s upcoming February election and weighed in on the billionaire’s plea for Germans to “move beyond” the guilt of the Holocaust during a rally over the weekend.

“I disagree completely with Elon Musk and what he is doing,” Scholz said, before adding that it isn’t surprising media owners are intervening in German politics as that’s been the case since the “19th century”—however, what is new is their endorsement of “right-wing politicians.”

“What is new is that he is intervening in favor of right-wing politicians all over Europe. And this is really disgusting,” Scholz explained. “It is not good for the democratic development in all the European Union.”

US billionaire Elon Musk talks to Alice Weidel (r), Federal Chairwoman of the AfD, at the AfD's election campaign launch via a video overlay.
US billionaire Elon Musk talks to Alice Weidel (r), Federal Chairwoman of the AfD, at the AfD's election campaign launch via a video overlay. picture alliance/Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty Images

Musk has repeatedly voiced his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party throughout the country’s election campaign, hosting a talk with its leader Alice Weidel on X in January and appearing virtually at an AfD campaign rally on Saturday.

During the event, which happened to take place a few days before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Musk told the crowd that there is “frankly, too much of a focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that.”

“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 continued. “I do not say it lightly when I think the future of civilization could hang on this election.”

Protesters outside the WELT Economy Summit hold up a placards criticizing tech billionaire Elon Musk on January 27, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.
Protesters outside the WELT Economy Summit hold up a placards criticizing tech billionaire Elon Musk on January 27, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Maja Hitij/Maja Hitij/Getty Images

“This is why I’m so angry about Elon Musk intervening for the far right and Elon Musk also not acting adequately to this killing of so many Jews,” Scholz told CNN. “This is the historic responsibility we will continue to take in the future as well.”

The chancellor also slammed Musk last week after his provocative hand gesture during an inaugural rally on Jan. 20 rose alarms for resembling a Nazi salute.

“We have freedom of speech in Europe, and everyone can say what he wants, even if he is a billionaire,” Scholz said during a Davos event the next day. “What we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme right positions and this is what I would like to repeat again.”

Musk has voiced his criticism toward Scholz in the past, declaring that he should “resign immediately” and dubbing him “an incompetent fool” in a December X post.

Germany’s federal election will take place on Feb. 23.

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