Elon Musk is undermining democracy and interfering in elections, alleged foreign leaders and the mainstream news media yesterday. In a major speech, French President Emmanuel Macron accused Musk of acting to “intervene directly in elections.” Musk “involves himself so directly in the internal affairs of other countries,” said Norway’s Prime Minister. “Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!” said Germany’s Economic Minister. Musk “injects chaos into other countries’ political systems,” “Hijacks U.K. Politics,” and is “throwing grenades,” said the Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
But there is no evidence that Musk has illegally interfered in foreign elections. In every case, what foreign leaders and the media are referring to are posts that Musk has made on X, formerly Twitter, and an op-ed Musk authored for a German newspaper. And that op-ed and those posts are legal, not only in the United States but also in Germany, France, Norway, and the rest of Europe.
