Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Elon Musk‘s support for “extreme-right positions” after he backed Germany’s far-right AfD party and sparked criticism with a gesture some likened to a Nazi salute.
The tech mogul made the gesture at an event marking US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, sparking widespread backlash.
“We have freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany,” Scholz told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday when asked about Musk. “Everyone can say what he wants even if he is a billionaire. What we do not accept is if this is supporting extreme right positions.”
Musk quickly fired back dismissing the criticism as a “tired” attack on his social media platform X.
“Shame on Oaf Schitz,” Musk posted on Tuesday with a video clip shared by another user that showed Scholz speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort.
The world’s richest man has sparked widespread anger in Germany with his backing for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of snap elections on February 23.
Earlier this month Musk hosted Alice Weidel, the AfD’s candidate to be German chancellor, for a wide-ranging livestream chat on X.
Scholz for his part earlier accused Musk of endangering “the democratic development of Europe” with his support for the far right.
Musk has previously attacked Scholz on X, calling him an “incompetent fool” who should resign after a deadly attack at a German Christmas market.
He has also used the platform formerly known as Twitter to signal his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of elections scheduled for next month.
Musk’s repeated endorsement of the AfD, the party that has embraced the Trump administration most among German parties, has drawn ire in Berlin, but the German government has stopped short of unanimously leaving his platform.
The European Commission said this month that it was stepping up its investigation into whether X breached European Union rules on content moderation.
Musk’s hosting of AfD leader Alice Weidel for a discussion on X this month was watched by the European Commission to check for any spreading of misinformation
