Musk Could Set Off Full-Blown Diplomatic Incidents

Musk Could Set Off Full-Blown Diplomatic Incidents
Elon Musk speaking at the symposium about antisemitism, organized by the European Jewish Association, in Krakow, Poland, on January 22, 2024 (Photo from STR/NurPhoto via AP).

Without naming him, Italian President Sergio Mattarella clearly rebuked Elon Musk, calling on him to “respect [Italy’s] sovereignty” after Musk used his social media platform X to criticize Italian judges for a ruling Monday that effectively blocked the implementation of Italy’s asylum-processing deal with Albania. The rebuke notably comes one day after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced that Musk would co-lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency.” (AP)

Our Take

This is not the first time that Musk has caused controversy with a U.S. ally with his comments on X, formerly Twitter. In August, Musk drew the ire of British PM Keir Starmer after Musk peddled far-right conspiracy theories and amplified anti-immigrant rhetoric on X related to violent race riots targeting asylum-seekers in the United Kingdom. Later that month, Brazil temporarily banned X after the platform, under Musk’s instructions, refused to comply with orders to ban accounts that Brazilian authorities said were spreading misinformation.

To be sure, in both of those cases, Musk’s political viewpoints—now clearly dominated by far-right and conspiracy-laden ideology—were at odds with officials in the U.K. and Brazil. By contrast, Musk is close friends with Italian PM Georgia Meloni, and his remarks about the Italian judges wasn’t that different from the criticisms expressed by Meloni’s political allies. So while Italy’s largely ceremonial head of state may have rebuked Musk, Italy’s far-right government is unlikely to follow suit.

Keep reading for free

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

Get instant access to the rest of this article by creating a free account below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:
Subscribe for an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review
  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.