LONDON ¨C For the past two months, tech billionaire Elon Musk has promoted Germany¡¯s far-right party in at least two dozen posts on his X platform, interviewed its leader, and told his 219 million followers it was the country¡¯s "only hope.¡±
Yet Musk¡¯s support for Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) played little part in the party¡¯s stunning second-place result in the Feb. 23 election, according to a review of his posts and polling data as well as interviews with political analysts.
The Tesla CEO appears undaunted, continuing to promote right-wing causes across Europe. While the most noticeable impact, so far, seems to be damage to Tesla¡¯s brand, analysts say he may have a longer-term goal for his business empire: backing political parties that might cut back regulations he thinks impede tech innovations.
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