海角大神

With his rightward political turn and campaign spending, Elon Musk has already shaken up U.S. politics, helping Donald Trump win a second term and muscling into his inner circle. Now the billionaire entrepreneur is throwing his weight around in European politics.

In recent weeks, Mr. Musk has endorsed far-right parties and politicians in Europe and used X, the social media platform he owns, to push his brand of antiestablishment politics. He has praised Germany鈥檚 AfD party (Alternative for Germany), which has neo-Nazi ties and is being monitored for extremism by domestic intelligence agencies, as the only party that can 鈥渟ave鈥� the country.

The AfD is running second in polls ahead of national elections scheduled for Feb. 23. On Thursday, Mr. Musk is hosting AfD leader Alice Weidel on a livestream on X; he also wrote a German newspaper opinion article in support of the party. In Italy, meanwhile, he has used his megaphone to blast judges in Rome who blocked the offshore processing of asylum-seekers and questioned whether an 鈥渦nelected autocracy鈥� was making decisions.

The United Kingdom, and its center-left Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was elected in July, has become a particular preoccupation for Mr. Musk. In a series of incendiary posts, Mr. Musk has called on Mr. Starmer to resign over the U.K.鈥檚 handling of decades-old child sex-abuse cases and asked his 211 million followers, possibly in jest, if the United States should 鈥渓iberate the people of Britain鈥� from its government. Last summer, amid antimigrant riots in U.K. cities fueled by misinformation on X and other platforms about the identity of the alleged killer of three schoolchildren, Mr. Musk claimed that 鈥渃ivil war is inevitable鈥� and lambasted Mr. Starmer.

Politicians have grown thick skins in the era of social media, where anyone can post criticisms. And Mr. Musk isn鈥檛 alone as an influential billionaire or online provocateur. But when the criticism is coming from a confidant of the incoming U.S. president and from the world鈥檚 richest man, it鈥檚 impossible to ignore.

For leaders in Europe, one question is whether Mr. Musk is telegraphing the views of Mr. Trump and laying the groundwork for a disruptive, 鈥淎merica First鈥� foreign policy. But even if he鈥檚 simply speaking for himself, the reach of his posts on his digital platform, and the real-world effects they have already sparked, represent a rare concentration of power in one man鈥檚 fingers.

In a press conference Tuesday, Mr. Trump praised Mr. Musk while professing ignorance of his interventions in European politics. 鈥淵ou mean where he likes people that ... tended to be conservative? I don鈥檛 know the people. I can say Elon鈥檚 doing a good job. Very smart guy.鈥�

Mr. Musk seems to be developing a playbook for bending political institutions to his will, as he showed last month during the chaotic passage of a spending bill in Congress when his posts helped sway the votes of Republican lawmakers.

By using his megaphone on X, formerly Twitter, in Europe, he鈥檚 exerting influence on democracies that are already under pressure from populists on both the left and right amid roiling voter disenchantment.

That leaves open the question of why he鈥檚 wielding such pressure at this time 鈥� and to what end. Some observers note that he and his companies stand to gain from any populist wave that may topple Europe鈥檚 liberal democracies. But his statements also suggest a sincere belief that disruption of Europe鈥檚 established political order is both necessary and inevitable.

鈥淚 think he and Trump [share] a skepticism of the Western alliance and a profound dislike for the softness and maybe the 鈥榳okeness鈥� of social democratic European politics. I think he wants to bring a different world into being. Now exactly what that world is going to look like is not clear. But he certainly wants a world in which he has a free hand to do what he wants,鈥� says Gary Gerstle, a professor emeritus of American history at the University of Cambridge.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a great believer in disruption as being a key to a better future,鈥� he adds.

Pushback from European leaders

On Monday, Mr. Starmer hit back at Mr. Musk after several days of trying to avoid a direct confrontation. He said in a speech that 鈥渁 line had been crossed鈥� in the public debate over the sex abuse scandal and that false online claims had led to threats of violence against elected officials. 鈥淭hose that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they鈥檙e not interested in victims,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e interested in themselves.鈥�

The same day, French President Emmanuel Macron raised concerns about Mr. Musk鈥檚 support for AfD at a meeting of ambassadors, saying that it was unimaginable that the owner of one of the world鈥檚 largest social media networks 鈥渨ould intervene directly in elections, including in Germany.鈥� Additional pushback came from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who said he was worried that an ultrawealthy foreign businessman would involve himself in internal politics. 鈥淭his is not the way things should be between democracies and allies,鈥� he said.

These leaders are under political pressure at home not to look weak as Mr. Trump prepares to take office, says Lewis Lukens, a retired U.S. ambassador who served in London during Mr. Trump鈥檚 first term. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e thinking, 鈥業鈥檝e got to stand up for myself at some point, and it鈥檚 easier to stand up against Elon Musk than it is to stand up against Donald Trump, just because Musk is not the incoming president,鈥欌�� he says.

It鈥檚 hard to see exactly what Mr. Musk gains by antagonizing the leader of the ruling party in the U.K., given its hold on power over the next four years, says Mr. Lukens, a senior partner at Signum Global, a consultancy. For U.S. diplomats in London, it has made for awkward conversations with U.K. officials. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be more awkward for the people in the embassy once Donald Trump is inaugurated,鈥� he says.

Mr. Macron didn鈥檛 name Mr. Musk. But he accused the social network owner of supporting 鈥渁 new international reactionary network.鈥� France鈥檚 government has been in turmoil since Mr. Macron called snap parliamentary elections last July, which led to deadlock and hollowed out centrist parties while strengthening his right-wing rival, Marine Le Pen.

To populists like Ms. Le Pen, Mr. Trump鈥檚 resurgent MAGA movement is a beacon across the Atlantic and a battering ram against liberal elites at home. 鈥淭here is a growing contingency of Trumpian Europeans, who see this as an opportunity,鈥� says Marietje Schaake, a former Dutch lawmaker in the European Parliament. 鈥淭hey see it as vindication that Trump is strong, and they embrace Musk鈥檚 voice as a sort of antiestablishment attack that they can [ride] on.鈥�

In the U.K., Mr. Musk has thrown his support behind the right-wing Reform party led by Nigel Farage, a Trump ally. Mr. Farage said recently that Mr. Musk was prepared to donate to his party, which only has a handful of members of Parliament, but is challenging the center-right Conservative Party, the country鈥檚 oldest, which lost power last year in a landslide defeat to Mr. Starmer鈥檚 Labour Party.

Under U.K. law, nonvoters can鈥檛 donate to parties. But U.K.-registered companies can give unlimited amounts, although there are restrictions on how much can be spent on campaigns. Donations of more than 拢500 ($625) must also be reported to the Electoral Commission, which publishes information on any contributions of more than 拢11,180 (about $14,000).

A mission to challenge the status quo

Mr. Musk鈥檚 enthusiasm for right-wing parties across Europe maps onto his personal, political, and business interests.

In addition to owning X, he is the chief executive of Tesla, which builds electric vehicles in Germany. In his recent opinion article, he cited this investment as a reason for his endorsement of AfD, which, in addition to opposing immigration, promotes free markets and lower taxes, and advocates that Germany abandon the European Union鈥檚 common currency. Mr. Musk has claimed that Germany is on the verge of 鈥渆conomic and cultural collapse.鈥�

His rocket company, SpaceX, is also seeking access to European markets, including in Italy, whose prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, met with Mr. Trump last week at Mar-a-Lago. A debate has since broken out in Italy over Mr. Musk鈥檚 offer to sell that country a satellite communications system and whether Ms. Meloni was currying favor with Mr. Trump鈥檚 ally, which she denies.

Quid pro quos, in which donors to a candidate are rewarded with political support for their company to win contracts, aren鈥檛 new. But what Mr. Musk brings to the table, with his control of X and his power to shape political debate, is more novel.

In Europe, he faces increased scrutiny from regulators under the EU鈥檚 Digital Services Act, which requires digital platforms to prevent and remove harmful and illegal content. Last year, X was cited for breaching the act after a preliminary inquiry and faces possible fines. The U.K. has also introduced tougher curbs on social media networks that will take effect this year.

Mr. Musk has a clear interest in weakening the EU鈥檚 ability to regulate global tech companies and may be betting that the Trump administration will win concessions for X in trade talks with the 27-member bloc, says Ms. Schaake, a fellow at Stanford鈥檚 Cyber Policy Center. Other U.S. tech giants also want to resist any global trend toward greater scrutiny of their platforms.

On Tuesday, Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was ending fact-checking of posts in favor of crowdsourced monitoring. He also took aim at European regulators and said Meta, the parent company of Facebook, will 鈥渨ork with President Trump to push back on governments around the world going after American companies and pushing to censor more.鈥�

Some analysts argue that Mr. Musk鈥檚 agenda appears broader than simply fighting regulations. The political causes and parties he supports aren鈥檛 simply aligned with his economic views, but are challenging the status quo in their societies. 鈥淗e鈥檚 supporting antidemocratic and even fascist voices,鈥� Ms. Schaake says.

This includes Tommy Robinson, a far-right street activist in the U.K. who is currently in jail for contempt of court after losing a libel suit to a Syrian refugee. Mr. Musk has called for his release and fallen out with Mr. Farage, who has tried to distance his party from Mr. Robinson, whose position on the fringes of U.K. politics is analogous to that of the Proud Boys.

Ultimately, Mr. Musk鈥檚 ideological strategy may outweigh his short-term commercial interests in lobbying politicians and regulators, says Professor Gerstle, now a fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. Picking fights with center-left politicians across Europe and leveraging social media as a disrupter advances a broader goal.

鈥淚 think what he has in his sights is an attack on liberal democracy and an effort to delegitimize liberal democratic governments in favor of far-right political forces,鈥� he says.

Where Musk stays quiet

Critics note that Mr. Musk鈥檚 championing of human rights abroad is selective. While posting relentlessly about grooming gangs and child abuse in the U.K., he has stayed silent on politics in Communist-ruled China, where Tesla owns a plant. He also steers clear of criticisms of Russia鈥檚 authoritarian system and its troops鈥� abduction of Ukrainian children.

His attacks on Mr. Starmer stem from the U.K.鈥檚 past failure to crack down on child-grooming gangs led by British Pakistani men in several northern cities. At the time, Mr. Starmer was the chief public prosecutor. But there鈥檚 no evidence that Mr. Starmer played any role in the failure 鈥� and once it came to light, he made the prosecution of child sexual abuse a priority.

By latching onto the decade-old controversy over the grooming gangs, whose victims were white girls whose complaints were allegedly ignored by local officials reluctant to appear racist, Mr. Musk is scratching a familiar right-wing itch. On platforms like X, conspiracies about liberal elites involved in child sex trafficking and covering up their abuses have proliferated and cross-fertilized with other MAGA causes.

But there may be another reason for his focus on child abuse, says Ms. Schaake: It gets clicks.

鈥淚t may just be the best instrument that he can think of,鈥� she says. 鈥淎ccording to the data that he has a lot of access to, this is what makes people angry, makes them tick, makes them vote.鈥�

Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.