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Elon Musk once again criticises German authorities via his social media platform. EFE
Musk Causes Stir, Labels German President as 'Anti-Democratic Tyrant'

Musk Causes Stir, Labels German President as 'Anti-Democratic Tyrant'

The billionaire and Trump ally, who previously supported the far-right AfD, now targets Steinmeier with insults that could lead to a five-year prison sentence under German law.

Juan Carlos Barrena

Martes, 31 de diciembre 2024, 18:15

Elon Musk, the billionaire and personal advisor to the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, continues his tirade against the German political elite, openly insulting the country's leaders. Most recently, he has targeted Germany's federal president, Frank Walter Steinmeier, labelling him a dictator in his latest post on his personal account on the social media platform X, which he owns.

"Steinmeier is an anti-democratic tyrant. He should be ashamed," reads Musk's message, reacting to a post on X by a German influencer aligned with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), who criticised the president for condemning foreign interference during his announcement of the Bundestag's dissolution and the call for early elections on February 23.

The German head of state explicitly mentioned the platform X, stating that it is used for "open and blatant" external influence in the German electoral process. In response to Musk's insults towards the German president, his office has merely noted the comments from the owner of Tesla and Space X, stating there will be no public reaction.

Steinmeier during the parliamentary dissolution session. Reuters

Public insults to Germany's head of state are criminalised under Article 90 of the German Penal Code, carrying potential prison sentences ranging from three months to five years. This law is rarely applied; between 1990 and 2024, 41 cases of insults to the head of state were recorded, but only twice did the federal president's office take the cases to court.

Elon Musk has been provoking Germany's political class for several weeks, especially after urging votes in the upcoming federal elections for the xenophobic and anti-European Alternative for Germany (AfD), which he claims is the only party capable of saving the country from "economic and cultural collapse," according to an article he penned for the conservative German Sunday newspaper 'Welt am Sonntag'.

His comments were unanimously condemned by all democratic German parties, criticising the blatant interference in the German elections, while being celebrated by Alternative for Germany, which sees Musk's intervention as valuable electoral support for their campaign. The campaign proposes that Germany should leave the European Union, NATO, and the euro, advocating for closer ties with Russia and an economic union stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

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todoalicante Musk Causes Stir, Labels German President as 'Anti-Democratic Tyrant'