Musk labels Breton ‘Europe’s tyrant’ “`

Elon Musk and former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton are at odds over Romania’s annulled election and the upcoming German election.

Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), has criticized former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, calling him “the tyrant of Europe,” following an interview where Breton seemingly supported the cancellation of Romania’s presidential election.

Romania’s Constitutional Court nullified the election last month due to intelligence service allegations of Russian interference on TikTok benefiting leading candidate Calin Georgescu. While subsequent investigations implicated a rival Romanian party, the court’s decision stands.

In an interview with BFMTV/RMC, Breton suggested similar action might be necessary in Germany if the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, supported by Musk, wins the upcoming election. Breton stated, “Let’s stay calm and enforce the laws in Europe, when they risk being circumvented and if not enforced, could lead to interference,” adding, “It was done in Romania and obviously, it will have to be done, if necessary, in Germany as well.”

A Polish account, ‘Visegrad24,’ shared a video clip of Breton’s comments, prompting Musk’s retort condemning Breton’s actions.

Breton subsequently denied Musk’s assertion, claiming his comments concerned online censorship under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and that the EU lacks the authority to overturn elections. He questioned on X, “Lost in translation… or another fake news?”

Although ‘Visegrad24’ interpreted Breton’s words as condoning election cancellations, Breton’s clarification failed to address the fact that the alleged interference in Romanian democracy originated internally, raising concerns about the court’s intervention. Musk, however, shifted his focus to the California wildfires.

Breton’s comments followed Musk’s X interview with Alice Weidel, AfD’s chancellor candidate. Musk’s endorsement of Weidel and call for the removal of Chancellor Olaf Scholz drew criticism from some EU officials as inappropriate foreign interference.

Breton, who served as EU Commissioner for Digital Affairs and Internal Markets, previously threatened Musk with sanctions over a planned X interview with Donald Trump.

After Musk threatened to expose alleged “secret deals” the EU offered in exchange for censorship on X, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated Breton acted independently. Breton later resigned in September, citing “questionable governance” within the Brussels leadership.