Macron’s comments, however, did not go as far as those of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who said Monday he found it “worrying” that Musk, “a man with enormous access to social media” would be so “directly involved” in the politics of other nations.
Musk is facing mainstream political backlash in Europe after wading into domestic politics in Germany and the United Kingdom. He came out in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany ahead of a snap legislative election in the country next month, which the government in Berlin and various political leaders argued amounted to election interference. Musk has also sparred with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and, in a surprising move, urged Nigel Farage to stand aside as leader of the right-wing Reform UK party.
The world’s richest person has yet to weigh in on French politics, and it’s unclear if he will offer the French far right the same sort of support as he has for similar movements in Europe — especially given that his more economically liberal views appear to clash with the those espoused by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
Musk and Macron have enjoyed cordial relations in the past. The Tesla, SpaceX and X boss joined United States President-elect Donald Trump at last months’ reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Last week, Musk donated 100 Starlink terminals to the cyclone-ravaged French territory of Mayotte.
In a riposte posted on X later on Monday, Musk didn’t directly criticize Macron, instead responding to a video of the French leader’s speech by writing: “Oh, like that time Starmer called [Donald Trump] a racist and said the British government should do everything to stop him?”
His post linked to a tweet that falsely claimed George Floyd, the man whose killing by U.S. police in 2020 sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests, died of a drug overdose. The tweet contained a video of Keir Starmer from that time period, in which the then-opposition leader does not call Trump a racist.