German Chancellor Olaf Scholz disregarded tech billionaire Elon Musk's backing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Germany's election is expected to be held early after the chancellor lost a confidence vote on Monday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday dismissed an assertion by Elon Musk that only a far-right party can “save Germany,” but said that freedom of opinion "also goes for multibillionaires.” Germany is expected to vote in an early election on Feb.

A senior lawmaker from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats railed against Elon Musk’s interference in German politics and called for a new antitrust act to constrain his influence in the corporate world.

Elon Musk was blasted by German and U.S. lawmakers for backing a German far-right political party on X, formerly Twitter on Thursday.

Germany’s intelligence agency has monitored the party, known as Alternative for Germany, for suspected extremism.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a swipe at Elon Musk over his political judgment, escalating a spat between the German government and the world’s richest person.Most Read from BloombergThe Architects Who Built MiamiReviving a Little-Known Modernist Landmark in BuffaloNew York City’s Historic Preservation Movement Is Having a Midlife CrisisNew York’s Congestion Pricing Plan Still Faces Legal HurdlesNYPD Car Chases Are Becoming More Frequent — and More DangerousScholz,

X owner Elon Musk posted (archived) on the site: "Only the AfD can save Germany." Following the post, which had more than 50 million views at the time of this writing, claims abounded about the politics of the political party,

Elon Musk has caused outrage after he threw his support behind a far-right political party in Germany, lauding them as the country’s saviour. In a post on Musk’s own social media platform X, he wrote that “only” the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party can “save Germany”.