Will Elon Musk’s Interest in German Politics End up Harming X?

Of all of his political targets, and criticisms of the leadership of different nations, Elon Musk’s recent criticism of Germany’s government may be the strangest.

Or maybe “riskiest” is a more apt term.

In recent weeks, Musk has loudly broadcast his support of controversial right-wing German political party AfD, even hosting a live-stream with AfD’s leader Alice Weidel and giving the party a mainstream, international platform via his massive X following.

But meddling in German politics is particularly risky for Musk, not just because of X, and the impact it could have on the platform if German officials feel that he’s interfering in domestic politics. German officials are said to be considering cutting ties with X due to Musk’s efforts.

But also because Tesla’s key European factory is based in Berlin. And as such, the German government could make things very difficult for Musk’s businesses, if it decided that his influence needed to be quelled.

Though that hasn’t necessarily stopped Musk before.

In early 2023, shortly after Musk took over at the platform, German officials threatened X with significant fines over its failure to comply with the nation’s hate speech removal requirements. That stemmed from Musk’s revised approach to content moderation, and it seemed that Germany was looking to ensure that Musk’s new freedom of speech approach also aligned with its own rules and regulations.

Since then, however, X has seemingly been increasingly willing to meet requests from German regulators, which has included providing user info to German authorities for their investigations into potential violations of the nation’s hate speech laws.

And given Tesla’s reliance on Germany for its EU operations, that makes sense. But this new, anti-government push from Musk seems to go against that entirely.

Will that impact Musk’s broader business ventures and get attention from Tesla shareholders as a result?

It’s the first time that Musk has taken on a government in a nation that Tesla relies on, and given the various regulatory challenges that Telsa has in the region, it could end up being a very problematic choice for the eccentric billionaire.

Indeed, German Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Ferda Ataman is now urging the German government to abandon X entirely, while various high-profile German organizations and users have quit the app in response to Musk’s political stances.

For context, X has around 14 million users in Germany. And while a full regional ban of the app seems unlikely, that is another potential risk of Musk’s overt efforts to influence local politics.   

And while Musk is feeling empowered right now, after helping Trump to victory in the U.S., and is likely eyeing similar opportunities for power grabs in other markets, he could also be close to biting the hand that feeds him, and his companies, particularly if AfD fails to get up in the next election.  

The impacts of doing so could backfire significantly. But then again, in the case of the U.S., they could also grant Musk significantly more political power and influence.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward approach, which Musk is renowned for. But it could just as easily end up destroying X, and tanking his other foreign business ventures.