The German government on Monday accused American billionaire Elon Musk of trying to influence its February election with articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which it said were “nonsense”.

Musk, who is set to serve Donald Trump's new administration as a foreign adviser, endorsed the AfD as Germany's last hope in a guest opinion piece for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that prompted the opinion editor to resign in protest.

“Indeed, Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election” with X posts and an opinion piece, a German government spokesman said.

Musk is free to express his opinion, the spokesman said, adding: “After all, freedom of opinion covers even the biggest nonsense.”

WATCH |: The German government says that Musk is trying to interfere in the elections.

Germany accuses Elon Musk of meddling in their upcoming elections

The German government is accusing Elon Musk of trying to influence their upcoming election after he expressed support for the far-right AfD party in an article published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper over the weekend, drawing criticism from politicians and the paper. resignation of the editor.

Musk, the world's richest man, defended his right to influence German politics because of his “significant investments” and praised the AfD's approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.

His intervention comes as Germans prepare to vote in parliamentary elections on February 23 after the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Musk also called for Scholz's resignation after his car crashed into a crowd on December 20. in a Christmas market, killing five people.

The main parties have vowed not to work with the AfD

The AfD is now in second place in opinion polls, behind the main opposition conservatives, and could topple a center-right or center-left majority in the election.Germany's main parties have vowed not to work with the AfD at the national level.

A government spokesman said Musk's endorsement of the AfD was “an offer to vote for a party that is monitored (by domestic intelligence) for suspicion of right-wing extremism and which has already been identified as partly right-wing extremism”.

German politicians have criticized Musk for supporting the AfD, with Scholz's co-leader of the Social Democrats comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Both want to influence our elections and in particular support the enemies of democracy in the AfD. They want Germany to weaken and sink into chaos,” Lars Klingbeil told the Funke news group on Monday.

Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Party and the current favorite to replace Scholz as chancellor, told Funke that Musk's comments were “intrusive and pretentious.”