The billionaire ally of US President-elect Donald Trump has criticized Berlin’s migration policy as treasonous
Chancellor Olaf Scholz must resign immediately, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said after it emerged that the man who mowed through a crowded Christmas market in Germany was an Arab immigrant with a residence permit.
At least two people, including a child, were killed and dozens injured when a 50-year-old man plowed a rented car 400 meters into a crowd in Magdeburg on Friday. Authorities identified the suspect, who was arrested at the scene, as a Saudi Arabian doctor who had moved to Germany in 2006 and held a permanent residence permit.
The investigation into the driver’s motive is ongoing, and authorities have yet to officially classify the incident as an act of terrorism. However, after initial reports emerged that the suspect was a foreigner, the government in Berlin faced a wave of criticism over its refugee and migrant policies.
“Scholz should resign immediately. Incompetent fool,” Musk wrote on X after the Chancellor expressed his condolences to the victims and their families over “something bad” that had happened in Magdeburg.
“Those who allowed this are traitors!” Musk added in response to another user who accused left-wing European leaders of facilitating the “mass migration of extremists who hate Christians.” In another post, Musk reacted to unconfirmed claims that Berlin had allegedly refused to extradite the suspect to Riyadh by saying: “Wow, this is insane. Whoever refused to extradite a murderer deserves to be punished severely!”
The billionaire went on reaffirm his statement that “only the AfD can save Germany,” prompting some officials in Berlin to accuse him of election interference.
“It is very disturbing the way in which the platform X, which I use very intensively myself, is increasingly being used to spread the political positions and goals of Mr. Musk,” said German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, urging German authorities to “keep a close eye on the goings-on on X.”
“Elon, I’ve initiated a policy debate inspired by ideas from you and Milei,” said the head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Lindner. “While migration control is crucial for Germany, the AfD stands against freedom and business – it’s a far-right extremist party. Don’t rush to conclusions from afar.”
Meanwhile, Scholz responded to Musk indirectly, telling a press conference in Berlin that Germany has freedom of speech. “That also applies to multimillionaires. Freedom of speech also means that you’re able to say things that aren’t right and do not contain good political advice.”
Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, paving the way for snap elections early next year. He has led the German government since December 2021, heading the so-called ‘traffic light’ coalition with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). However, the coalition disintegrated last month after Scholz dismissed his finance minister, Christian Lindner, over disagreements on economic and financial policies.