Elon Musk urges far-right German party to move beyond ‘past guilt’

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Greeted with loud cheers, Elon Musk virtually delivered a short speech Saturday at a rally for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, where he urged the crowd to not be ashamed of their country’s history.

Musk’s appearance comes amid debate over whether a gesture he made twice during an inauguration rally was a Nazi-style salute, which he denies. He was introduced by Alice Weidel, the AfD’s candidate for chancellor. At the rally in Halle, Musk encouraged the roughly 4,500 attendees to be proud of their German heritage.

“There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,” Musk said, seeming to reference the country’s history when the Nazis rose to power.

“You should be optimistic and excited about a future for Germany,” said Musk, as the crowd applauded.

The SpaceX CEO reiterated his praise for AfD, telling supporters, “I think you’re the best hope for Germany.”

Weidel thanked Musk for his support after his remarks and said, “Make Germany great again!” echoing President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The same day, protesters took to the streets in Berlin and Cologne, singing anti-fascist songs and denouncing the AfD.

“Those who fuel racism and attack climate protection are not just campaigning, they are endangering lives,” Luisa Neubauer, a climate activist, told the crowd, according to the Associated Press. Police say about 35,000 protesters showed up in Berlin, while the Cologne rally had about 40,000 attendees.

AfD is considered by Germany’s domestic intelligence service to be a suspected extremist organization. The party’s youth arm and its regional AfD branches in three of Germany’s 16 states are classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist.”

Asked about Musk’s comments Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he does not believe Musk is a Nazi, “but what he said does bother me in this regard.”

“Tomorrow is the 80th anniversary of liberating Auschwitz,” Graham said. “I was just there a few months ago. You know, I don’t expect the Germans to be, racked will collective guilt all their lives. But I do hope in German schools they educate the German children about what happened in Germany. I hope in our schools that will educate people.”

Musk backed the AfD in late December, drawing a harsh rebuke from the German government with accusations that the tech mogul was “trying to influence the federal election.” The election is set for Feb. 23, seven months earlier than originally scheduled after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in mid-December.

On Jan. 9, Musk interviewed Weidel on X, the social platform he owns. The two agreed that German’s education sponsored a “wokeish, leftist” agenda and said that speech regulations were comparable to Adolf Hitler’s media censorship.

The interview had about 200,000 listeners.