Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and an important member of US President-elect Donald Trump's inner circle, has been making whirlwinds across the globe, particularly Europe, through his social media posts and articles.
After having defended and supported the far-right party in Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Musk has aunched attacks on the Labour Government in the UK, drawing responses from London. Recently, Musk posted an online poll on X, asking users if 'America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government'.
To put it into context, Musk in recent times has flagged the issue of child sexual abuse, particularly a series of cases that were related to northern England towns in which groups of men, largely from Pakistani backgrounds, were tried for grooming and abusing dozens of girls. The Conservatives have allegedly used these cases to link child abuse to immigration and accuse the political opponents of covering up the “grooming gangs” out of fear of appearing racist.
The Tesla CEO has asked for a public enquiry into these cases as he accused Keir Starmer of failing to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England's director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.
Macron criticises Musk
Moreover, Musk has also drawn criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron as he labelled Musk's leadership of X as “dangerously irresponsible” after X decided to allow unmoderated content on the platform.
However, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni came out in support of Elon Musk as she termed Macron's accusations 'exaggerated and politically motivated", adding that X embodies the freedom of speech, which is an essential principle of democracy.
Meloni defended Musk's freedom to express his political ideas, saying that in her opinion he didn't pose a risk to democracy. “The problem is when these people use resources to finance parties and associations halfway around the world to influence policies, which I don't see Musk doing, unlike (American investor and philanthropist George) Soros,” the Italian premier said, AP reports.
Spanish PM join European leaders
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also joined European leaders voicing concerns over Tesla CEO's attempt to influence politics across the Atlantic. Sánchez has alleged Musk of 'working against liberal and progressive values'.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also attacked over his comments about Germany's politics and support for the AfD. Scholz said Musk is trying to stay 'cool'.
In a statement, the German Chancellor said, "I find it much more worrying than such insults that Musk is supporting a party like the AfD, which is in parts right-wing extremist, which preaches rapprochement with Putin's Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations."
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