Guest article in “WamS”: Esken: Elon Musk’s only goal is to become richer

After Elon Musk’s election call for the AfD, SPD leader Saskia Esken criticized the US billionaire and also the newspaper that published his guest article. Of course you have to debate the views and offers in the election campaign, said Esken on Deutschlandfunk. “And the expression of an opinion by a foreign keyword provider can also play a role. But you don’t have to print it.”

“I also find it quite strange that people say that the designated editor-in-chief of “Welt” contradicted it,” said the SPD politician. In her opinion that is not true. “He says that Elon Musk’s analysis is completely correct. Only the consequence, namely that the AfD is the only salvation, is wrong.” Esken continued: “It is very clear to us that our election does not accept any outside interference. Our democracy will not accept it.”

Musk, who is considered a close advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, caused a stir with his guest article for “Welt am Sonntag” (“WamS”). In it he wrote: “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country.”

Springer: Discussion about the Musk text is very informative

In the “WamS” the future editor-in-chief of the “Welt” group, Jan Philipp Burgard, contradicted the billionaire’s statements: “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong.” Both articles – Musk’s and Burgard’s – were placed right next to each other in the printed newspaper.

When asked by the German Press Agency about the genesis of the article and how to deal with internal criticism, the media group Axel Springer responded at the weekend with a joint statement from the current “Welt” group editor-in-chief Ulf Poschardt and his successor Burgard: “The current discussion Elon Musk’s text is very informative. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.”

This includes dealing with polarizing positions and classifying them journalistically. “This will continue to determine the compass of “Die Welt” in the future. We will develop “Die Welt” even more decisively as a forum for such debates.”

Esken: Musk cares about money

Esken cited money as Musk’s motivation for his comments. “It’s about money, it’s about doing business and of course also about the manipulation of opinions. Here and there you read clearly anti-Semitic, clearly sexist, clearly racist views in his tweets.”

According to her, the “richest man in the world” only has one goal in his life: “That is to become even richer. And everything he does, he does with exactly this goal.”

When asked whether the Tesla boss’s behavior had an impact on the electric car manufacturer’s factory in Brandenburg, the SPD leader said: “Of course not. No, they shouldn’t be connected at all.”