In an article arguing the tech billionaire is a threat to democracy in the US, Der Spiegel drew a parallel between the X owner and Nazi-era media mogul Alfred Hugenberg.
German magazine Der Spiegel has defended its reporting on Elon Musk after the billionaire accused the magazine of fuelling violent threats toward him and US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Musk shared a photo on social media platform X of a Der Spiegel article featuring a photo montage of him and Trump with the English caption, “Enemy number two”.
“With their relentless hit pieces, legacy mainstream media are actively encouraging the assassination of Donald Trump and me,” Musk wrote.
He doubled down on his criticism of the article during a town hall rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, telling the crowd: “I’m like, enemy number two of what? Uh, democracy? I mean I’m pro-democracy.”
The founder of Tesla and SpaceX joked he has had to increase his security measures in order to fend off attempts on his life.
Der Spiegel defended its reporting in a follow-up piece, saying that the original article sheds light on Musk’s journey from business into politics and his role in supporting disinformation.
“The report also draws on numerous statements by Musk himself or statements by former employees and analyses the extent to which these can be viewed as attacks on liberal democracy,” the magazine wrote, adding it felt a duty to monitor Musk’s concentration of power with a critical eye.
Comparison to Hitler and Hugenberg
Musk hit back in a second post about the original piece, which likened his his proximity to right-wing populist movements in the US to German businessman turned media entrepreneur Alfred Hugenberg, a media mogul who ended up joining Hitler’s cabinet in 1933.
“I did Nazi that coming!” Musk quipped, sharing a video of German right-wing influencer Naomi Siebt criticising the Der Spiegel article. “Those fools will Goebbels anything down.”
Der Spiegel outlined how Hugenberg had bought a media empire in the 1920s and utilised it in the election campaign before being appointed by Hitler as the Reich Minister of Economics.
“Hugenberg, Hitler? Does that overestimate Musk’s historical role?” Der Spiegel wrote.
The magazine added in its follow-up article that the comparison with Hitler and Hugenberg was intended to show how Musk could become a dangerous influence on modern democracy.
Former US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell — whose controversial tenure saw him relatively politically isolated due to his association with the far right — also weighed in on the report.
“Der Spiegel has a history of antisemitism and anti-Americanism,” Grenell posted on X, sharing various photos of former magazine covers.
Musk has thrown his weight and financial muscle behind Trump despite having once claimed X needed to stay politically neutral to survive.
ADVERTISEMENTLast week, he promised randomly allocated cash rewards to anyone who signed a petition in support of free speech and the right to bear arms, provided they are a registered US voter in the state of Pennsylvania and a supporter of Trump.
He also held a solo Trump rally in the Philadelphia suburbs, and committed more than $70 million (€64 million) to a Political Action Committee that will spend money to help Trump and other Republicans win their races on 5 November.
