Elon Musk is infuriating European leaders with his political grenades

Elon Musk has focused on European politics in many X posts.

Yui Mok/PA/Getty Images

The leaders of the UK, Germany, and France have condemned Elon Musk’s comments about Europe.His many X posts have become increasingly extreme in recent days.It’s hard to know how these interventions can benefit Musk, but they don’t appear to be hurting him either.

Donald Trump is less than two weeks away from being sworn in as president for the second time. But, after spending hundreds of millions helping him return to the White House in an election he said would decide “the fate of Western civilization,” Elon Musk is increasingly focused on European politics.

Musk has said he became outspoken on politics to “defeat the woke mind virus.” In post after post on his platform X since Trump’s election, he has turned his brash focus to Europe.

He’s called for the release of a far-right agitator from prison in the UK, called the country’s leader “utterly despicable” and wondered whether America should “liberate” Britain — all in the last week.

Musk has inserted himself into and fueled a political row over the UK Government’s handling of an inquiry into gangs who sexually exploited children. When he acquired Twitter, now called X, in 2022, he said combating images of child sexual abuse on the platform was “Priority #1.”

Musk has also loudly endorsed Germany’s far-right AfD party ahead of elections there in late February. His comments have earned him rebukes from leaders across the continent.

Musk’s interventions have been condemned by the leaders of Germany, France, and the UK

“Don’t feed the troll,” said German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday, after Musk said “only the AfD can save Germany.” On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Ten years ago, who could have imagined it if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the left-leaning Labour Party, hit back at Musk, without naming him, in a speech the same day, “Those who are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible are not interested in victims — they’re interested in themselves.”

Musk plans to host a conversation on X with the AfD’s leader this week. He earlier defended his intervention in Germany in an oped in Welt am Sonntag, saying he has “significant investments” there — Tesla has a factory near Berlin. (Welt am Sonntag, along with Business Insider and Politico are all owned by Axel Springer.)

But, unlike in America, his political interventions in Europe don’t obviously affect those investments. Tesla stock closed at $251 on Election Day in November. It then surged as investors recognized Musk’s gamble backing Trump had paid off.

Tesla closed on Monday at $411 and has been little changed in recent days when Musk has been posting about Europe, suggesting that investors are paying little, if any, attention.

Musk has become particularly engrossed in UK politics

The world’s richest person has been posting and reposting dozens of times a day on X. He’s also boosting the reach of those he endorses to his 211 million followers.

Musk posted last week about the UK’s grooming scandal, calling for Starmer to resign and be jailed for “his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hit back at Elon Musk on Monday.

Henry Nicholls/Getty Images

This was followed on Saturday by a front-page Daily Mail story which declared, “Starmer ‘guilty as anyone’ over grooming gangs.” The comment was from a former detective and whistleblower who helped expose pedophile gangs, but Musk’s posts have fueled the story and helped keep it on the front pages of arguably the UK’s most influential newspaper.

On Tuesday, Politico even attributed a government response in the House of Commons regarding the scandal to Musk, saying he had “elicited some action.”

Musk turned on Nigel Farage, the British politician and Trump ally

Other British newspapers, such as the Daily Telegraph, have also carried significant coverage of Musk’s comments — and reported that Musk was mulling a huge donation to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.

Farage has called Musk a “hero,” but Musk said on Sunday that Farage, a member of parliament and a friend of Trump, should quit as leader. He appears to have turned on him after Farage didn’t follow his call for far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who calls himself Tommy Robinson, to be freed from prison.

Yaxley-Lennon is serving a sentence for contempt of court after repeating untrue claims about a Syrian refugee, for which he was previously successfully sued for defamation.

Nigel Farage leads the Reform UK party and enjoyed Musk’s support until he called for him to quit as leader.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Musk’s pivot was reported across Britain’s front pages on Monday, and Starmer’s attack on him was across them on Tuesday.

Some British commentators have run with Musk’s comments to put pressure on the Labour government. On Monday, Piers Morgan wrote on X that Starmer, “must order a full no-holds-barred national inquiry into exactly what happened in the appalling gang rape scandal,” including “who was accountable for such lengthy systemic failure of justice.” Morgan said Starmer should also investigate “his own role,” as Starmer was the country’s chief prosecutor when the scandals first emerged before he entered politics.

Musk’s interventions in the US benefited him materially. The analyst Dan Ives called Trump’s reelection a “home run” for Tesla, as the stock rose the day after the election. Having the new president’s ear will likely help Musk secure policies favorable to his companies. There is no obvious corollary in Europe, leaving many wondering how this is benefiting him.

But the last few days also suggest Musk has little to lose by continuing to post whatever he likes on X.