Elon Musk is criticized for supporting the far-right AfD as the "last hope" in the German election and is likened to Vladimir Putin.

Musk was criticized after a newspaper published a guest opinion piece in which he described the far-right Alternative for Germany party as Germany's last hope.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and an American billionaire, has been charged by the German authorities for attempting to sway its election.

Musk supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as Germany's final hope in a guest opinion piece that appeared in the daily Welt am Sonntag.

Following the fall of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany is scheduled to hold legislative elections on February 23 of next year.

In protest of Musk's beliefs, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper's Commentary Editor quit.

According to a spokesman for the German government, Elon Musk is attempting to sway the federal election through the opinion piece and X posts.

Additionally, the spokeswoman stated: "After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense."

The government spokesperson went on to say that Musk's support for the AfD was "a recommendation to vote for a party which has already been recognized as partly right-wing extremist and which is being monitored (by domestic intelligence) on suspicion of being right-wing extremist."

The CEO of Tesla has defended his "significant investments" as justification for his influence over German politics. He has commended the AfD's stance on taxes, market deregulation, and regulation.

In addition, he demanded Scholz's resignation following the December 20 vehicle crash that killed five people at a Christmas market.

A number of German lawmakers are criticizing Musk for his support of the AfD party.

Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil has likened him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"They both wish to sway our elections and specifically aid the AfD's anti-democracy factions. On Monday, Klingbeil told the Funke news group, "They want Germany to be weakened and thrown into chaos."

Musk's remarks were deemed "intrusive and pretentious" by Friedrich Merz, the head of the opposition Christian Democrats, according to Funke.