Elon Musk's influence stirs up European politics: WSJ
7 Min Read
Trump's ally has inundated X with posts targeting European politicians, creating a diplomatic challenge for the continent's leaders.
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Elon Musk speaks after Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, November 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP)
Elon Musk is shaking up Europe’s political arena with a wave of provocative commentary on contentious topics like immigration and free speech. His interventions have presented European governments with a complex challenge, as they grapple with the tech billionaire's growing influence and his emerging role as a key advisor to the incoming Trump administration. According to a recent piece by The Wall Street Journal, Musk’s actions are reshaping political dynamics across the continent, drawing attention to the intersection of technology, power, and governance.
In recent weeks, Musk has posted a string of inflammatory messages on X, the platform he owns, targeting European politics. His posts include backing a far-right party ahead of Germany’s elections, accusing the British prime minister of complicity in rape, criticizing Italian judges, and attacking the European Commission.
Europe's diplomatic headache
This barrage of commentary from the world’s richest man has turned into a diplomatic headache, leaving mainstream European political parties scrambling, as per the piece.
With Donald Trump’s inauguration just weeks away, many European leaders are hesitant to confront Musk directly, fearing it could strain relations with the Trump administration or provoke Musk into escalating his criticism.
However, Musk’s repeated posts to his 211 million followers are dominating news cycles across multiple countries, forcing leaders to address the controversies. Europe's increasingly unpopular political class is particularly concerned that Musk might leverage X to rally disillusioned voters, as slow economic growth continues to weaken trust in traditional politics and fuel instability.
POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme https://t.co/OkZ6YS3u2P
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 24, 2024
“Ten years ago, if someone had told us the owner of one of the world’s biggest social-media companies would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany, who would have imagined that?” French President Emmanuel Macron remarked to ambassadors on Monday.
Oh like that time Starmer called @realDonaldTrump a racist and said the British government should do everything to stop him?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 6, 2025
Or when Starmer sent British Labour Party members to campaign in the US against President Trump this year?https://t.co/5R28WgZIj0 https://t.co/S3cjV27Woi
Musk’s influence grows, with concerns over the impact on upcoming elections
Musk’s direct and confrontational approach to foreign affairs, as per the piece, underscores the challenge that US allies will face as they navigate the upcoming Trump presidency. During Trump’s previous time in office, foreign governments had to contend with his unpredictable late-night social media posts. Now, they must also contend with Musk’s influence.
In a recent press conference, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spent much of the time addressing Musk's criticisms of his record on jailing child rapists during his tenure as the U.K.'s chief prosecutor over a decade ago. Although Starmer stated he was “not going to individualize this to Elon Musk or anyone else,” he took several minutes to defend his record and denounce those “spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible.”
Ahead of Starmer's appearance, Musk pinned a message to the top of his X feed stating: “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.” Starmer declined to comment on this particular post.
While European politicians and business leaders frequently comment on US politics, especially to criticize Trump, few have any real influence over US voters. However, political strategists are concerned that Musk could alter the political landscape by using his X platform to actively campaign for parties he supports.
In Germany, some strategists and politicians fear Musk's personal opinions may influence the general election in February. Musk previously called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz a “fool” and has recently backed the far-right AfD party. This week, he is hosting a live chat on X with AfD co-chair Alice Weidel and wrote an op-ed in a major German newspaper, calling her party “the last spark of hope for this country.”
Controversial political interventions
In 2019, Steve Bannon, former strategist to Trump, attempted to create a network of right-wing parties ahead of the EU parliament elections, but with limited success. Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told WSJ that Musk could prove more effective by focusing on domestic European elections and leveraging his social media platform. Torreblanca commented, “He sees himself as a savior of U.S. democracy from the progressives… He thinks this should not stop at home and that it should continue in Europe.”
However, Musk faces challenges. In Britain, for instance, only 26% of people have a positive view of him, the same approval rating as Prime Minister Keir Starmer, according to pollster YouGov. Additionally, the number of daily users on X has decreased from 10.3 million in May 2022 to 8.6 million in May 2024, according to Ofcom. X’s own figures show a decline of around 5 million active users across the EU between October 2023 and summer 2024.
The EU Commission, the bloc's executive branch, announced on Monday that it is considering expanding its investigation into X to include Musk's livestream with Germany's AfD. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier stated, “You’re free to express your views, but there are certain limits to that.” Musk has previously stated that he would challenge any EU findings against X in court. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act, the Commission can impose fines up to 6% of global revenue.
Given Musk’s leadership of multiple companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, and his role in co-chairing the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, some European officials are surprised by his focus on European domestic affairs.
In Germany, Daniel Tapp, spokesperson for the AfD's Alice Weidel, mentioned that the party had been in contact with Musk’s team before last year’s European elections, requesting documents about the AfD platform. However, the endorsement in December was unexpected.
Musk has been particularly critical of Britain. Over the weekend, his X feed was filled with Islamophobic posts criticizing Starmer for not doing enough to prosecute gangs, "mostly composed of Muslim men of Pakistani descent, who groomed and raped over a thousand young girls in towns across Britain more than a decade ago".
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2025
Starmer defended his record, stating that he reopened closed cases related to the child grooming rings and reformed how such crimes were prosecuted when he was chief prosecutor.
Could what happened to the Yazidi people one day happen to Europe?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2025
https://t.co/TIoCJbnRos
Additionally, Musk has called for the release of Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist imprisoned in Britain for contempt of court after making false claims about a Syrian refugee. Musk’s disagreement with Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform party, escalated over the weekend when Farage refused to support Robinson's potential membership in Reform.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stands out as one of the few Western European leaders whom Elon Musk admires. The two have met multiple times since Meloni assumed power in late 2022. She aligns more closely with Musk’s extremist views on issues like immigration, declining birthrates, and "wokeism" compared to many of her European counterparts.
In a recent interview with Corriere della Sera, Meloni remarked that while she occasionally disagrees with Musk, “It makes me laugh how people who until yesterday hailed Musk as a genius now depict him as a monster, just because he chose what is considered the ‘wrong’ side of the barricades.”
