The German government accused U.S. billionaire Elon Musk on Monday of trying to influence its election due in February with articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, even though it suggested they amounted to “nonsense.”

Musk, who is expected to serve as an outside adviser to Donald Trump’s new leadership, subsidized the AfD as Germany’s last hope in an op-ed for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that prompted the editor to resign in protest.

“It is true that Elon Musk will influence the federal elections” with X messages and opinion pieces, a German government spokesman said.

Musk is free to express his opinion, the spokesperson said, adding: “After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.”

Germany accuses Elon Musk of interfering in its upcoming elections

Musk, the richest person in the world, defended his right to influence German politics thanks to his “significant investments” and praised the AfD’s work on regulation, taxes and market deregulation.

His intervention has come as Germans prepare to vote in a parliamentary election on Feb. 23, following the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Musk also called for Scholz’s resignation after a car rammed into a crowd at a Christmas market on Dec. 20, killing five people.

Lately, the AfD is in second place in opinion polls among the main opposition conservatives and could possibly thwart a center-right or center-left majority in the election. The main German parties have pledged not to collaborate with the AfD at the national level.

The government spokesperson stated that Elon Musk’s advice to the AfD was “advice to vote for a party that is controlled [by national intelligence services] and is suspected of being far-right and has already been identified as being in part of the extreme right. ” .

German politicians have criticized Musk for his attitude toward the AfD, with the co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Both want to influence our elections and specifically support the AfD’s enemies of democracy. They want Germany to be weakened and plunged into chaos,” Lars Klingbeil told the Funke news group on Monday.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democrats opposition and favorite to succeed Scholz as chancellor, told Funke that Musk’s comments were “intrusive and pretentious. “

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