Musk's 'undignified' insults irritate German politicians

As 2025 begins, the gloves are coming off in Germany's election campaign for the vote on February 23.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is polling in second place at 20% and has seen prominent support by multibillionaire Elon Musk.

The South African-born entrepreneur, 53, is seen as having intervened directly in the election campaign, as well as making provocative attacks on the leaders of Germany's highest democratic institutions: first the chancellor and then the head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. 

"Steinmeier is an anti-democratic tyrant!" Musk wrote on his social media platform X. "Shame on him."

Steinmeier's office said that it had noted the post but would not comment on it.

Several other German politicians, however, reacted to Musk's comments with indignation, describing them as "offensive," "undignified" and as "crossing a line."

Rolf Mützenich, parliamentary group leader for the Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said it should be asked after Donald Trump is sworn in as US president on January 20 whether "the repeated disrespect, defamation and interference in the election campaign were also made in the name of the new US government."

In the interview with the news magazine Der Spiegel, Mützenich accused Musk of crossing a line demarking what is acceptable between friendly states.

Musk's latest remarks came after he published an opinion piece in a German daily supporting the far-right AfD. A German government spokesperson later referred to the op-ed as evidence that Musk was seeking to sway the election.

German defamation laws

After the breakup of Germany's three-way coalition government in November, Musk wrote of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in German: "Olaf ist ein Narr" ("Olaf is a fool"). 

Freedom of expression and press freedom are enshrined in Article 5 of the German constitution, the Basic Law.

So everyone has the freedom to state their opinion. But at the same time, everyone also has the right not to be insulted in public. It is up to a judge to decide whose right weighs stronger.

In the German criminal code, there is a whole category of "crimes of honor" ("Ehrdelikte") that includes everything from spreading lies about another person to defamation. The code makes certain kinds of statements punishable as insults, slander, or defamation. It also declares as illegal the propagation of false statements about an individual that harm her or his personal or professional reputation or cause financial losses or emotional distress.

The offense of "insult" ("Beleidigung") comes with a maximum penalty of two years in jail, although perpetrators normally get no more than a fine. If the insulted person insults back, judges generally dismiss the case.

Imprisonment is very rare, and harsh punishments are an option only for repeat offenders or when the insult is seen as being in combination with racism or antisemitism.

No legal action against Musk

A defamation case is taken on by the relevant court only at the request of the harmed party, who must first file a police report. There then needs to be a police investigation. The person pressing charges is also required to get an attorney to deal with the case and needs to prove the offender's guilt to the judge.

As a result, in most cases, insults are not reported — and the politicians insulted by Elon Musk on social media have not indicated any intention to press charges.

However, recently, there have been several cases where German politicians have taken legal action against insults, especially on social media. 

Economy Minister Robert Habeck from the Green Party, for example, authorized prosecutors to pursue "insult" charges   for a social media post referring to him as an idiot (Schwachkopf).However there are indications that law enforcement had first invited or asked Habeck to press the charges.

Habeck was also insulted as an idiot by Musk in a post on X in November.

Green Party supporters, in particular, have increasingly become targets of attacks. Local politicians have also been physically attacked, threatened and insulted.

The US billionaire's next show of support for the AfD is expected to come soon: According to an AfD spokesperson, concrete plans are being made for a meeting between Musk and AfD leader Alice Weidel on the X-Space chat feature.

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