Mark Cuban has used Elon Musk’s own AI chatbot to shoot down the tech mogul’s controversial praise of Germany’s far-right AfD party.
Musk said that “only the AfD can save Germany” in a post on X on Friday that provoked widespread backlash from politicians at home and overseas.
Responding to criticism from Democrat Senator Chris Murphy, Musk said that the policies of climate-change-denying AfD are “identical” to the Democratic party when Barack Obama took office in 2008.
“The AfD policies are identical to those of the US Democratic Party when Obama took office! I don’t think there is a single difference,” Musk wrote on X. He did not detail why he thought so, given the apparent policy gulf between Obama and the Democrats, and the AfD.
Cuban, who often winds up his fellow billionaire, asked Musk’s Grok which political party most resembles the AfD in the U.S. – and the result was the Republican party.
“I love @grok,” Cuban quipped on X. “It’s literally the reason I keep this app.”
“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) most closely resembles the **Republican Party** in the United States, particularly in its current, more right-wing to far-right incarnation,” Cuban messaged, sharing the bot’s response to the question.
When pressed by followers to share the wording he input into the bot, Cuban replied: “Which American party is it most like.”
Some X users highlighted that Cuban did not explicitly clarify with the bot that Musk was referring to the Democratic Party in 2008.
Musk did not expand on his reasoning for drawing parallels between AfD and the Obama administration, which also provoked backlash.
Political scientist Ian Bremmer said to equate the two was “quite the take.”
“Afd is much more ‘Germany first’ on fossilfuels/climate change, lgbtq/identity politics, pro-life, immigration, esp vis muslims, and many others,” Bremmer said.
Musk was provoked when Murphy lashed out at the Tesla CEO on X and then on CNN.
“The out of touch billionaire running the incoming Trump Administration announced last night that he enthusiastically supports the neo-Nazi party in Germany,” Murphy posted on X, alongside a screenshot of Musk’s tweet.
“WTF,” Murphy added. “NONE OF THIS IS OK, EVERYONE. NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL.”
“What a huge liar,” Musk responded.
German health minister Karl Lauterbach, called Musk’s intervention – which came just weeks before a snap election – “undignified and highly problematic”.
Lauterbach accused the tech billionaire of election interference and called for authorities to “keep a close eye on the goings-on on X”.
“It is very disturbing, the way in which the platform X, which I use very intensively myself, is increasingly being used to spread the political positions and goals of Mr Musk”, he said.
