Mr. Musk Goes to Europe

Is world's richest man expressing Donald Trump's disdain for US allies?

Apologies to Karl Marx, but a new “specter is haunting Europe,” and it’s not the leftist movement that spooked 19^th Century “old Europe,” as Marx called it in his famous treatise “The Communist Manifesto.”

Rather, the threatening specter comes not from a radical left movement but a burgeoning far right, in the alarmed view among the continent’s contemporary political leaders.

And its paladin is not some firebrand operating deep within radical circles. Nor is the looming threat even European. Rather, it is Elon Musk, the high-tech wizard and the world’s richest man.

In-person and through messages on X, the South African-born Musk has launched a blitzkrieg of political criticism aimed at democratic governments on the continent. He appears to favor far-right, ultra-nationalistic and xenophobic parties, whose growth raises fear of a fascist revival in Europe.

Musk’s comments and activities might once have been dismissed as political tantrums from a peculiarly outspoken oligarch. However, he carries a weighty calling card: close association with US President-elect Donald Trump, leader of Europe’s most important ally.

Musk made his way into Trump’s good graces by showering him with tens of millions of dollars to help finance his election campaign and by appearing at public rallies to cheer on his candidacy.

He has since become an unorthodox member of the future Trump administration, which will formally take power on January 20. With a salary of US$1, Musk has been assigned to find ways to slash US government spending.

He can afford the low pay: he pioneered and runs Tesla, the pioneering electric vehicle maker, SpaceX, a company that makes rockets that launches most US satellites into space, and Starlink, which delivers internet services from low-Earth orbit satellites. He also owns the social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter.

Other American moguls—notably Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg – have gone out of their way to welcome Trump’s election and pay obeisance to him by visiting Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s sumptuous Florida estate.

Musk, on the other hand, got behind Trump early and took up residence at a Mar-a-Lago suite he reportedly rents for US$2,000 a night.

Does this all mean Musk’s preferences in Europe reflect Trump’s thinking? During Trump’s 2017-2021 term in the White House, he often treated allied leaders as ingrates who were unwilling to pay their share to NATO for defense of the continent.

Musk’s message seems broader and more hostile, i.e. European politics need to be remade in line with Trump’s “America First” notion. While formally only an advisor on budget issues, Musk’s activities have quickly spread overseas.

“That should be a worrying development for US allies, particularly in Europe, where domestic politics are already vulnerable to destabilization,” wrote Parliament Magazine, a London-based chronicle of European political affairs.

Indeed, the shots Musk has taken at top allies have roiled a continent already unsettled by weak governments facing economic difficulties and a nearby war in Ukraine.

Germany faces elections next month. France is into its third prime minister in three years. The European Union as a whole is riven with disputes over how long and how much to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Britain, having left the EU in 2016, is experiencing economic difficulties belying predictions of a pot of gold at the end of a post-Brexit rainbow.

Musk’s anti-Europe campaign began last year. He has interjected himself into Germany’s national elections, set for next month.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is fighting an uphill battle not only to head off a center-right challenge but also to avoid losing ground to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, the Alternative for Germany).

In early January, he held an online interview with Alice Weidel, the AfD leader who is running largely on an anti-migration platform. “Only the AfD can save Germany, end of story,” Musk declared during the pair’s conversation.

He also attacked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the Labor Party, who he accused of enabling sexual grooming of children a decade ago when he was a top government prosecutor. Musk called for his ouster and suggested the US ought to “liberate” Britain from its “tyrannical government.”

He capped off his campaign by expressing support for anti-Muslim firebrand Tommy Robinson, who is currently imprisoned for libel over accusations that a Syrian refugee had assaulted British school girls.

Across Europe, officials have expressed outrage – though all have been careful to focus on Musk and not his ties to Trump.

Scholz called for everyone to “stay cool,” while nonetheless noting that “Musk is supporting a party like the AfD, which is right-wing extremism, preaches rapprochement with Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations.”

Starmer called Musk’s accusations about sexual grooming a lie, yet saved his harshest criticism for opposition Conservative party members who parroted Musk’s charge.

“What are politicians here doing to stand up for truth?” Stamer asked. “Once we lose the anchor that truth matters, then we are on a very slippery slope,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is trying to fight off a surging right-wing challenge in advance of 2027 elections, accused Musk of “supporting a new international reactionary movement and intervening directly in elections.”

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez harshly criticized Musk, without mentioning his name. He said a far-right movement that “openly attacks our institutions, stirs up hatred” was being led “by the richest man on the planet.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chimed in indirectly with veiled criticism of Musk by saying that “global economic players” have become inordinately involved in “shaping public opinion.”

Members of the European Parliament, meanwhile, have spoken of trying to curb X’s influence by applying anti-disinformation laws to tether its operations.

But if Europe is fearful of taking up the issue with Trump (possibly due to concerns he may privately agree with Musk’s comments and activities) it will be left to Trump’s incoming cabinet to rein in Musk.

Foreign policy is generally the realm of the secretary of state, secretary of defense and the President’s national security advisor. It will be up to them to complain if they feel Musk is encroaching on their territory and doing harm to American alliances.

But there’s no sign of that yet. During Senate confirmation hearings this week for a pair of Trump appointees – secretary of state nominee Marco Rubio, a senator from Florida who once ran for the presidency, and defense secretary candidate Pete Hegseth, formerly a television news commentator – no one asked whether Musk was representing actual US foreign policy views of the incoming administration.

And even if Trump eventually tried to gag Musk, will the outspoken billionaire listen? “Even without the president-elect, he has the wealth and connections to exert his will on politics worldwide,” wrote The Atlantic Magazine this week. “Musk is here for as long as he wants to be.”

China seems to agree Musk may be a force to permanently reckon with. Sources in Singapore told the Wall Street Journal that China might sell TikTok, the Chinese social media giant, to Musk when a law banning its US operations comes into force. TikTok is under fire from the US Congress for allegedly being under the control of China’s Communist Party.

Congress has demanded the video-sharing app be put under the control of a US citizen, of which Musk is a naturalized version. Musk also operates a big Tesla plant in China and has met personally with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. China officially blesses him as a “friend” of China.

But this is business. TikTok officials called the report of Musk’s potential purchase “pure fiction.” Chinese Communications Ministry, meanwhile, has said it would “firmly oppose” any forced sale of TikTok assets.