Musk: US interference in the EU and the limits of a struggling Europe

Brussels – No foreign interference, no manipulation of democratic activity and life: so far, the European Union has declared war on any interference that might influence elections that, in the end, might not be truly free. In this sense, the threat is Russia, against which Europe is working hard to strip the Kremlin’s propaganda power and influence. But what if the US steps into European affairs? Elon Musk, head of Tesla and next in charge of spending reductions in the incoming Trump administration, lays bare the limits of the EU.

The world’s richest man openly sides with Germany’s far-right. With Germany going to early elections on Feb. 23, from across the Atlantic comes the endorsement for the Afd, depicted as the country’s last hope. It is a voting indication with significant repercussions for the EU—opposing European integration, immigration, and even the euro. It represents an alliance prepared to collaborate with the right, serving as the cornerstone for a return to nation-states.

Elon Musk seeks to undermine Europe. An eventual alliance of nationalist forces creates prospects of a disintegration of the EU, paving the way for a return to many little states that, in a globalized world, would struggle to remain competitive. This risks triggering disputes between entities overly focused on the ‘me first’ creed. The US has an interest in further weakening a European Union that is not thriving. In all this, the EU must ask itself: Can Washington still be trusted? Is it truly the ally we think it is?

.@elonmusk: “The #AfD has understood that economic freedom is not only desirable, but necessary. Their approach to reducing government overregulation, lowering taxes and deregulating the market mirrors the principles that Tesla and SpaceX… pic.twitter.com/Xp8nmbGwaK

— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) December 28, 2024

So far, Musk has been asked to work against the spread of the pro-Russian narrative on X, the instant messaging service accused of being an overly fertile ground for fake news. Now, the richest man in the world becomes the real problem, and the EU will have to do something about it. Assuming it is able or willing.

Of course, Musk spoke because Die Welt asked him: the newspaper decides the editorial policy, certainly not the European Commission. Yet, the EU and its member states did not hesitate to shut down those newspapers in Europe that gave space to Russian propaganda harmful to European interests. Why are they not now calling for action against the German newspaper? Sure, it would mean that the EU, despite its much-hyped values, is resorting to censorship in a way that does no honor to democracy. But because it would mean sending a political message to the next tenant of the White House.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission,  hyper-active on social media and ready to comment in real-time whatever happens, found nothing to say on Musk’s interference in the internal affairs of an independent and sovereign EU State, moreover the very one of von der Leyen: no comment, not a word. The same goes for European and non-European politicians. They let it slide, effectively implementing a double standard whereby foreign interference is not all the same: Russian interference is unacceptable, and US interference is tolerable.

A sandcastle emerges from the Fortress Europe affair: fragile, with many limits, and at the mercy of external actors and factors. Musk merely reminds the EU of its own political and economic inadequacy. In a Europe where France and Germany seem to have lost and exhausted their leadership role, it will have to be up to the Commission to try to set the course. In any case, someone else is already dictating the von der Leyen agenda.