'Big deal': Elon Musk raises alarms by endorsing what's known as 'German neo-Nazi party'

Elon Musk raised alarm by endorsing Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has called for the nation to leave the European Union.

The tech billionaire and Donald Trump adviser commented on an X post by far-right influencer Naomi Seibt, who had criticized German politician Friedrich Merz, saying the potential next chancellor was "horrified by the idea that Germany should follow Elon Musk’s and [Argentina President] Javier Milei’s example," and Musk replied with a brief endorsement.

“Only the AfD can save Germany," Musk posted at 1:03 a.m.

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The anti-immigrant AfD has been making electoral gains in recent years despite being classified as a “suspected extremist party” by the German judiciary, and it's expected to make further gains in the next election.

Musk's political profile continues to rise in the U.S., where he has become ensconced as a leading adviser to the president-elect after pouring $277 million into his campaign, and he played a leading role in the failure of a stopgap government funding bill that had been negotiated between House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested Musk serve as House speaker instead of Johnson, who has angered Republicans and frustrated Democrats as the continuing resolution failed, setting up the possibility of a government shutdown if a deal cannot be reached by the end of Friday.

Trump also lobbed a volley toward Europe by threatening to impose tariffs against the European Union if it didn't begin buying more oil and gas from the U.S.

"I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas," Trump posted on Truth Social at 1:08 a.m. "Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!"

The Tesla CEO's post set off alarms around the world, with many commentators expressing concern that he would align himself with a party that uses Nazi-era slogans and imagery to promote its opposition to immigration and Islam.

"Musk endorses German neo-Nazi party," said noted conservative Bill Kristol. "I think this should be kind of a big deal: [Musk] tweeting at 1:03am, 'Only the AfD can save Germany.' The AfD is Germany’s neo-Nazi party."

"Musk’s megalomania grows apace," posted Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times. "He’s clearly trying to engineer a far-right revolution across the western world. He’s now backed the AfD. Before that Reform. And he’s the dominant figure in Trump world. He’ll clearly get behind Le Pen."

"Funnily enough, Elon Musk doesn't even seem to know that the party that called for 'more Musk & Milei' in Germany is the FDP, not the AfD," added Manuel Müller, a senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

"Musk seems focused on destabilizing Europe while strengthening russia and china," said Joni Askola, a Finnish geopolitical analyst. "He will support anti-EU candidates as much as possible. Germany should be prepared, as he has already started influencing elections by openly backing the pro-russian and pro-chinese far-right AfD."

"In the meantime, on X, Elon Musk openly endorses the radical right-wing AfD and actively intervenes in the current election campaign in Germany," posted Daniel Witte, a sociologist at the University of Münster.

"Many European countries have electoral laws, limiting spending," added The Atlantic's Anne Applebam. "If they care about enforcing those laws, they might have to suspend social media that won't respect those laws during campaigns."