How Elon Musk intervenes in political debates around the world

The tech billionaire Elon Musk, boss of Tesla and founder of the rocket company Space After the attack in Magdeburg, in which five people died, Musk called Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his social network X (formerly Twitter). “incompetent idiots” insulted and demanded his resignation.

Just a few hours before the attack on Friday, Musk had indirectly recommended voting for the AfD: only this could save Germany, he wrote.

Musk’s statement was no coincidence; he was referring to a video that Naomi Seibt had uploaded to X. Naomi who? She is the German who makes Musk an AfD fan.

Seibt first gained some notoriety in 2019 when she appeared at a conference of the Eike climate denier association. The video of this can still be seen on the club’s YouTube channel. She says she started questioning common narratives a few years ago, and ends with “Dear Antifa out there – ‘how dare you'”. An allusion to the words of climate activist Greta Thunberg before the UN. The “South German newspaper” wrote about the conference at the time: “They even have their own Greta.”

Seibst now has a considerable reach on social media. She has over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and her X account has more than 300,000 followers. One of them: Elon Musk. The tech billionaire repeatedly pays attention to the YouTuber. When she posted on X in June that she had voted for the AfD, Musk responded that he didn’t understand why the AfD was described as right-wing extremist.

In the video to which Musk reacted last Friday, Seibt speaks of distancing the Union’s candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz from the suggestion that Germany should orient itself more towards Argentina’s controversial President Javier Milei and Elon Musk. A few hours later, Musk quotes this video on X and writes about it: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”

Naomi Seibt is the daughter of the lawyer Karoline Seibt. She started school at the age of five, skipped a grade, and won at “Youth research” first place in the North Rhine-Westphalia state competition in the field of chemistry. She was already writing essays about nationalism at the age of 16, and the Identitarian Movement links a podcast interview with Seibt in its blog. She completed her high school diploma with 1.0. She’s an overachiever – one “Anti Greta”who knows how to use her talent.

Seibt quickly made his career, working for the American think tank Heartland Institute, which also denies climate change. She was in “Mirror” portrayed, interviewed by Fox News, rose to considerable prominence. This year, as can be seen on her X account, she was at US President-elect Donald Trump’s election party.

Seibt has long since stopped restricting himself to climate issues, but also propagates other right-wing conspiracy narratives such as that of “Great exchange”a supposed elite project aimed at replacing white people with migrants. This is also a reason for their reach in the extreme right-wing scene.

In Germany, Musk had previously only shown indirect sympathy for the AfD. Instead, he repeatedly targeted politicians from other parties, such as Robert Habeck from the Greens, for making derogatory comments. He declared Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz “Fool”about whose predecessor Angela Merkel he wrote: “Who is this Merkin person?” – a probably deliberate typo. Merkin means pubic hair wig in English.

His post on Friday that “only the AfD” Germany “save” can, is a new form. Interference by the multi-billionaire and Trump advisor in the German election campaign.

The AfD reacted immediately. Party leader Alice Weidel replied to Musk that he was completely right. Other German politicians also commented: FDP chairman Christian Lindner advised Musk not to judge too quickly. He initiated the debate about being inspired in Germany by the ideas of Musk and Javier Milei. He then invited Musk for a direct exchange.

The interactions between the X owner and the young influencer are just one example of Musk’s ideas for Germany – and the world. The richest man in the world, who has an estimated fortune of more than $400 billion, is also involved in the domestic politics of other European countries – apparently with the aim of creating a larger right-wing populist network in Western democracies.

British populist Nigel Farage told the British newspaper “telegraph” about his recent meeting with Musk: “He sees the motherland of the English-speaking world in very great difficulty.” The billionaire left no doubt “that he stands behind us.”

According to Farage, negotiations were also underway to provide Musk with financial support for the right-wing populist party Reform UK. There is speculation in British newspapers about a donation of 100 million euros. Previously, Musk accused the incumbent Labor government of… “tyrannical police state” and predicted a civil war in Great Britain in the summer.

In Italy, Elon Musk demanded that the judges do so after a Roman court ruled that the internment of migrants in Albania was illegal “go”. In another case, he railed against an Italian prosecutor who had called for a six-year prison sentence for the right-wing extremist politician in the trial of Matteo Salvini: “The crazy prosecutor should be the one who should go to prison for six years.”

Italian President Sergio Mattarella forbade this interference: Musk must respect the country’s sovereignty.

Elon Musk also comments more and more aggressively on South America’s democracies: In Brazil, the Tesla founder got into a public argument with a judge, describing him as “evil dictator”. He is linked to Argentina’s President Milei “Love at first sight”is how an Argentine diplomat described a meeting between the two. Musk wants to help Argentina, Musk and Milei will soon be hosting a big event in Argentina “the ideas of freedom” to apply.

The fact that Elon Musk reacts to the German influencer Naomi Seibt and clearly takes sides with the AfD is not an isolated example of political influence: a pattern emerges in which the billionaire and powerful Trump whisperer supports right-wing and extremist positions through his media reach – and possibly strengthened by his money.

This interference has long since reached beyond national borders and affects established democracies worldwide. The case makes it clear: It’s not just about a few controversial posts, but about the question of the extent to which a rich but not democratically elected individual can influence public opinion.