Now Musk's escalating criticism and mocking of European leaders and governments, which he has done repeatedly via X, the social media platform he owns, has sparked a backlash from European governments amid increasing calls for regulatory action in Europe against X.

In an interview, Scholz brushed off the comments from Musk that have included him calling the German chancellor a "fool."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said recent attacks from Elon Musk on him and some of the country’s other leading politicians don’t affect him or the nation’s democracy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued a withering response to billionaire Elon Musk’s endorsement of the country’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany.

The Socialist chancellor’s comments are the latest sally in an ongoing feud with the tech entrepreneur-turned-social media mogul, who has called him “a fool” and claimed he will “lose” the German federal election set for Feb. 23. In this last instance, Musk referred to Scholz as “ Oaf Schitz .”

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is preparing to host a live-streamed chat on his social media platform X with a leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany’s election would “not be decided by the owners of social media channels” in his annual New Year’s Eve address.

Musk earlier called Scholz an "incompetent fool" and signaled his support for Germany's anti-immigration AfD party.

It's no longer a secret that the American billionaire openly supports the German far-right party AfD. With his insulting tweets towards German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his repeated statements of support for the AfD,

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denies plans to meet Putin, calling rumors 'deeply indecent.' He also criticizes Elon Musk for backing Germany's AfD party. Get the full story here

Elon Musk praised the co-leader of the German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as “very reasonable” on Thursday, urging Germans to vote for the far-right party in what is the latest high-profile sign of the tech billionaire’s involvement in European politics.