Elon Musk, Former EU Tech Chief Thierry Breton Spar Over Germany

Elon Musk escalated a spat Saturday with the ex-EU digital chief Thierry Breton, describing him as a "tyrant of Europe" as the two men traded barbs online.

An ally of incoming US President Donald Trump, the tech billionaire has long criticized the European Union's rules regulating the digital space, accusing Brussels of censorship. This week, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg echoed that charge.

Musk has recently angered Europe with repeated insults of the continent's leaders and his open support for the far-right German AfD party ahead of elections next month.

His latest outburst against Breton came after Breton said Europe could take action to avoid interference in elections.

An account shared an excerpt of Breton's interview with French broadcaster BFMTV/RMC claiming he said "the EU has mechanisms to nullify a potential election victory of the AfD," prompting Musk to rail at what he termed "the astounding absurdity of Thierry Breton as tyrant of Europe."

Breton rejected the claim in an X post, stating:

"Tyrant of Europe? Wow! But no, Elon Musk: the EU has NO mechanism to nullify any election anywhere in the EU. Not at all what is said in the video below related only to the application of the DSA and its moderation obligations. Lost in translation... or another fake news?"

The DSA, or Digital Services Act, is the EU's landmark legislation demanding platforms clamp down on illegal content online.

In Thursday's interview, Breton emphasized that Europe should "keep our cool and enforce our laws in Europe when they risk being circumvented and when they can, if not enforced, lead to interference.

"We did it in Romania, and we will obviously have to do it if it is necessary in Germany," he added.

Regulatory Actions and Probes

The EU last month opened a probe into TikTok under the DSA, following allegations that the platform was used by Russia to sway the result of Romania's presidential election, which was later annulled by a top Romanian court.

European regulators have also been investigating X (formerly Twitter) since December 2023. Musk's close ties to Trump have raised questions about how the EU will handle his platform and its suspected DSA violations, which could result in fines.