BERLIN – US billionaire Elon Musk is trying to exert influence over the German election taking place in February, a government spokesperson said on Monday.

"It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election," with X posts and an opinion piece he wrote backing the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) over the weekend, she said.

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Musk was free to express his opinion, the spokesperson added. "After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense."

The support of the AfD from Musk, who is set to serve US President-elect Donald Trump's administration as an outside adviser, comes as Germans are set to vote on Feb 23 after a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.

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The commentary published in German in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, flagship of the Axel Springer media group, expanded on a post by Musk on social media platform X last week in which he wrote "only the AfD can save Germany" and praised the party's approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.