Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, has said that the billionaire is not suited for politics because of his personality, which makes it difficult to communicate with many people in the public system.

The richest man on the planet and the owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X, Elon Musk plays an influential role in the administration of US President Donald Trump, especially through his position as an advisor to the Committee on Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk’s critics have raised concerns that he holds too much power and accused him of trying to dismantle important parts of the federal government.

In an interview with Al Arabiya News, Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, a retired South African engineer, was not supportive of the idea of ​​his son entering politics.

“Elon is not suited for politics,” Errol said. “Politics is where you have to deal with people from the very smart to the not-so-smart, from the very sophisticated to the very unsophisticated. If you can’t do that, don’t get into politics.”

He compared Elon’s political journey to the challenges he faced when he did, to that of US President Donald Trump — due to his brash personality.

At Trump’s inauguration rally last month, Elon Musk sparked a backlash after giving what some considered a “Nazi salute.” Errol Musk denied the accusations and said the billionaire’s actions were often misunderstood.

“Elon is a terrible speaker. My son has a lot to learn. We all do. “I know Elon very well and I understand that he has to try to get his speech out as quickly as possible and be as engaging as possible,” Errol said.

While Elon Musk has often been criticized for his efforts to streamline federal agencies, Trump has repeatedly expressed support for those efforts. Although Musk does not hold an official cabinet position, the White House describes him as a “special government employee” and “senior advisor” to Trump. On February 26, Musk attended Trump’s first cabinet meeting, where the president praised his contributions.

The Power of Billionaire Elon Musk: Gradually Becoming the Global Spokesperson of the Far Right?

Not only is he powerful in the US, tech billionaire Elon Musk is also making an impact in a long list of other countries.

The power of billionaire Elon Musk: Gradually becoming a global spokesperson for the far-right? – Photo 1.

Billionaire Elon Musk speaks in New York, US – Photo: ANI/TTXVN

Discussing issues in many countries
According to CNBC, Mr. Elon Musk has posted articles on social networks to support street protests in Brazil and Ireland.

He welcomed the new prime minister in New Zealand and expressed his agreement with a politician in the Netherlands.

He has met directly with the leaders of Argentina and Italy many times. His social networking application X has complied with censorship requests from leaders in India and Türkiye.

“Musk can play an important role as a broker,” said Manuela Caiani, an associate professor of political science at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy.

Caiani said people listened to him because of his wealth, despite his lack of traditional elected legitimacy. “Musk is changing the paradigm of politics,” Caiani said.

Rodrigo Campos, a postdoctoral researcher in politics at the University of York, commented: “Musk is successfully building his image as a global spokesperson for the far right.”

Musk’s right-wing advocacy varies by country. He endorses specific political parties on social media, declares support for specific causes, and makes joint appearances online or in person with politicians.

So far, he has not used his personal wealth as the world’s richest man to support politicians in other countries the way he supported Donald Trump in the US last year, with more than $290 million.

Politicians and right-wing movements have benefited from Musk’s support thanks to his global fame as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and his enormous media clout on social media platform X, where he has 217 million followers.

Since Trump took office last month, Musk has also been able to provide foreign leaders with a potential channel of communication with the White House.

Musk has attended numerous meetings with world leaders alongside Trump, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Musk has maintained meetings with world leaders in his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In this role, on February 13, he appeared with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – where the two have combined politics and business.

Reactions from many politicians and countries
Although the Trump White House has allowed Mr. Musk to control his conflicts of interest, some Democrats have said that Mr. Musk’s actions were inappropriate.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said on X: “Mr. Musk is acting as a foreign minister and he is meeting with a key foreign leader not to ask for concessions that benefit the American people but to ask for concessions that will make him rich.”

Currently, Mr. Musk’s personal diplomacy is increasingly being criticized by leaders in some countries, who accuse him of improperly interfering in their internal politics.

“The kind of freelancing we’re seeing from Mr. Musk is unprecedented,” commented Steven Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Changing Approaches

Mr. Musk, like other CEOs of large corporations, has a long history of expanding the sales and supply chains of his businesses internationally.

However, Mr. Musk’s approach to foreign leaders began to change about three years ago in response to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Power of Billionaire Elon Musk: Gradually Becoming a Global Spokesperson for the Far Right? – Photo 2.
Always Standing by Mr. Trump

In December 2021, he posted a meme on X mocking then-Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin for going to a nightclub and violating social distancing rules.

In February 2022, he posted and then deleted an image comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler due to his policies related to the pandemic.

2022 also saw Musk suggest that Ukraine cede territory to end Russia’s special military campaign.

In the second half of 2023, Musk began to speak out more strongly about elections in other countries, especially in Europe, where he denounced demographic changes and the arrival of foreign immigrants.

In August 2023, Musk praised Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban for trying to increase the birth rate.

In September 2023, he shared a social media post from an Italian far-right account that compared accepting immigrants to “suicide.”

In December 2023, Mr. Musk traveled to Rome to attend an international conference of conservative politicians.