Is Elon Musk Winning the German Immigration Debate?

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has been handed a significant legislative win, days after Elon Musk made another surprise intervention in German politics.

On Wednesday, the opposition Christian Democratic Union party drew on support from the AfD to push through a nonbinding motion urging stricter border and asylum rules in the country, thereby breaking the postwar Brandmauer—or “firewall”—against established political parties cooperating with the far right in Germany.

Newsweek has reached out to Musk via the X, formerly Twitter, press department for comment.

Why It Matters

Musk has made several forays into the European immigration debate in recent months, and his ideas have gained traction with some leading political figures on the continent.

The breach of Germany’s long-standing taboo appears to be a victory for the Tesla and SpaceX CEO—coinciding as it does with his increasingly vocal support for the AfD. On Friday, Musk addressed the party via video link, urging the country to move on from its “past guilt,” and saying: “Only AfD can save Germany.”

What To Know

Musk’s first major entry into German politics came in late 2024, when he endorsed the AfD on X. He followed this up with an op-ed for the German weekly Welt am Sonntag in which he decried the portrayal of the party as far-right or extremist, criticized Germany’s “oppressive regulations,” and said that immigration into the country since the mid-2010s had sparked “significant cultural and social tensions.”

The publication of Musk’s article led the editor of Welt‘s opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, to submit her resignation from the paper. It also drew criticism from Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union party, who is considered the country’s chancellor-in-waiting ahead of the upcoming election.

Merz called the billionaire’s interference in German politics “intrusive and pretentious.”

However, it was Merz who championed Wednesday’s motion—aimed at curbing immigration, strengthening the country’s deportation powers, and effectively closing Germany’s borders to the majority of asylum-seekers.

The nonbinding bill garnered support from 75 AfD lawmakers, and marked the first time an AfD-backed motion has passed in the Bundestag, national broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

Merz expressed regret that his bill—which included strongly-worded criticisms of the AfD in its text—required the party’s backing, but the breach of the postwar “firewall” suggests that Musk’s support has pushed the party further into the mainstream of German politics.

A recent study by Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society found that Musk’s expressions of support for the AfD—which included a 74-minute interview with party leader Alice Weidel—had coincided with a “significant” increase in the party’s reach on the X platform.

What People Are Saying

Weidel thanked Musk for his vote of confidence, posting a video to X in December in which she said: “Dear Elon, thank you so much for your note [sic]. The Alternative for Germany, the AfD, is indeed the one and only alternative for our country; our very last option if you ask me. I wish you and President Donald Trump all the best for the upcoming tenure.”

During their interview on January 9, Weidel praised Musk for his pro-free speech stance. “Elon, it’s a completely new situation for me that I can just have a normal conversation and I’m not interrupted or negatively framed,” she said, as reported by NPR.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters on Tuesday, as quoted by Politico:“If you look at the print press in Germany, you will see that there are many billionaires that also intervene in politics. That’s not new. What is new is that [Musk] is intervening in favor of right-wing politicians all over Europe. And this is really disgusting. And it is not good for the democratic development in all the European Union.”

Christian S. Czymara, a migration and political communication researcher at Goethe University Frankfurt, said: “The increased attention [from Musk] likely helped to popularize the AfD and normalize views that were previously considered too extreme, boosting the party’s reputation among the broader public,”

“While the direct impact on Wednesday’s vote is unclear, Musk’s support both reflects and reinforces a political climate where far-right positions gain legitimacy,” he added.

Ruud Koopmans, a professor of sociology and migration research at the Humboldt University of Berlin, told Newsweek that Musk’s support had not helped the AfD in a significant way and was “totally irrelevant” to the Wednesday vote, as “Musk is not a very popular figure in Germany.”

Musk’s support, he continued, had “initially created some positive spin” for the party. However, this “dissipated after Musk’s online interview with Weidel in which she performed quite badly, even according to her own fanbase.

“So, in general, the ‘Musk factor’ is a quantité négligable [negligible amount] in the German election campaign,” he added.

Isabelle Hertner, a senior lecturer in the politics of Britain in Europe at King’s College London, said that Musk’s support for the AfD was motivated by his desire “to be seen” and to “provoke.” However, like Koopmans, Hertner told Newsweek that this would likely backfire for the party.

“This might work with some of the AfD’s core supporters,” she said. “But Musk is not very popular in Germany, and this intervention is perceived as him ‘meddling’ with Germany’s internal affairs, which isn’t appreciated by many people.”

Regarding the breach of the Brandmauer, Hertner said that the motion was a “kneejerk, panicky reaction” to a string of fatal attacks in recent months committed by refugees and migrants in Germany, but that Musk’s influence could largely be discarded.

“[The AfD] were gaining popularity before Musk intervened,” she said.

Poltical sociologist and author of Neoliberal Nationalism: Immigration and the Rise of the Populist Right, Christian Joppke, told Newsweek that Musk’s intervention in German politics was likely motivated by the Tesla factory in Brandenburg, as well as his natural affinity for right-wing parties across Europe.

Joppke is a political sociologist and professor at the University of Bern, Swizerland, and author of the book, Neoliberal Nationalism: Immigration and the Rise of the Populist Right.

However, he said that Musk’s involvement had had “no influence whatsoever” on the increasing support for the AfD or Wednesday’s vote.

Marc Helbling, a political scientist and member of the German Expert Council on Integration and Migration, told Newsweek: “I wouldn’t overestimate the impact his intervention had in Germany.”

“[Musk] has certainly given the AfD a lot of publicity, as his various interventions have led to a lot of debate, and it might also show that the AfD is supported by one of the most powerful [people] in the world,” he said. “But he has also been criticized a lot, which could lead to backlash that discourages people from voting for the AfD.”

However, political strategist Johannes Hillje said that Musk could appeal to some of Germany’s libertarian voters, telling NPR: “This demographic sees Elon Musk as a successful entrepreneur and they don’t mind his radical political views.”

What Happens Next?

Following the passage of his nonbinding motion, Merz, whose party leads in the polls ahead of February’s election, intends to table formal legislation on Friday and is likely to have the AfD’s support once more.

On Thursday, lawmakers will debate a proposal to request Germany’s Federal Court of Justice to assess whether the AfD is an anti-constitutional party, Politico reported, which would mark the first step toward a potential legal ban.

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