But Mr Macron’s comments come as Norway, which on Monday said it was “concerned” that Mr Musk, “a person with significant access to social media”, would be so “directly involved” in the issue. Prime Minister Jonas Gare Store’s comments fell short. politics in other countries.
Mr. Musk is facing mainstream political backlash in Europe after making inroads into domestic politics in Germany and the United Kingdom. He announced his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, which Berlin’s government and various political leaders have accused of interfering in the election. Musk has also been sparring with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and in a surprising move, urged Nigel Farage to step down as leader of the right-wing Reform Party.
The world’s richest man has yet to opine on French politics, especially given that his more economically liberal views appear to have clashed with France’s far-right. It is unclear whether it will provide the same kind of support to France’s far-right movement as it does to the French movement. One supported by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
Mr. Musk and Mr. Macron have long had a friendly relationship. Top executives from Tesla, SpaceX and X attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral last month, along with US President-elect Donald Trump. Last week, Musk donated 100 Starlink devices to the cyclone-ravaged French island of Mayotte.
In a counterattack posted on X late Monday, Mr. Musk did not directly criticize Mr. Macron, instead replying to a video of the French leader’s speech by writing: Should I do everything to stop him? ”
His post linked to a tweet that falsely claimed that George Floyd, whose killing by US police sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, died of a drug overdose. The tweet included a video of Keir Starmer at the time, in which the then opposition leader did not call Trump a racist.