Elon Musk, the Left, and the Alternative for Germany: Is Hitler a communist or an anti-immigration guy?

The German government accused Musk of trying to meddle in the country’s elections after he penned an op-ed in which he supported the populist anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AFL) party. The AfD rose to power in the wake of the 2015 refugee crisis, which saw millions of people, particularly from Syria and other parts of the Middle East, flee to Europe, and has a staunchly anti-immigrant stance. It was reported last year that the members of the Alternative for Germany had met with leaders of the far right in Austria and Germany to plan for mass deportation if the party gained more power. The anti-immigrant ads ran on Meta’s platforms appeared to violate the company’s policies when they were advertised on social media by the AfD.

In response to Musk’s op-ed, Weidel posted a video in which she thanked Musk “so much for your note,” and wished Trump and Musk “all the best for the upcoming tenure.”

During the US elections, Musk emerged as one of Trump’s most important allies. Not only did he help support and fund Trump’s campaign via the America PAC and appear on the campaign trail with the former president, he also used his ownership of X to elevate the campaign’s talking points. After taking down the trust and safety teams, and allowing previously banned figures back on the platform, research showed that engagement on X with posts by Musk and other conservative voices were boosted. He says that he is signaling to anyone who wants to listen that this space is for a political actor.

On Thursday, Elon Musk agreed with the leader of a far-right German political party that Adolf Hitler was a communist and that left-wing groups who support Palestinian causes have more in common with Nazis than with her own party.

“The biggest success after that terrible era in our history was to label Adolf Hitler as right[-wing] and conservative, he was exactly the opposite,” Weidel said. “He wasn’t a conservative, he wasn’t a libertarian, he was a communist, socialist guy, and we are the opposite.”

In his autobiography Mein Kampf, Hitler—who as leader of the German Reich was responsible for the invasion of the Soviet Union and the enslavement and death of millions of its citizens—repeatedly describes communism as an enemy of the German nation. He thought Marxism was a plot by the Jewish people to control the world.

The AfD Candidate in Germany’s Snap Elections: How Digitally Stopped the DSA, or Did Hitler Just Go AWOL?

Weidel is the AfD’s candidate for chancellor in Germany’s snap elections, which take place next month. As someone who previously worked in finance and lives in Switzerland with her wife, who is from Sri Lanka, and their children, she has been presented as a relatively moderate face for the party.

Ahead of the conversation on Thursday, the EU said that it would be monitoring the event to see if it was artificially promoted to voters in Germany, something which would be in violation of the region’s sweeping Digital Service Act rules. The European Commission would not be commenting on the contents of the event.

Weidel referenced the EU’s preoccupation with the conversation, claiming 150 officials at the EU commission were listening in, then claimed the DSA was a censorship tool, before adding: “You know what Adolf Hitler did? Free speech was switched off by him. He controlled the media, and without that he would have never been successful.”