Trump friend Musk benefits from EU funds worth millions

Brussels – Companies controlled by the controversial tech entrepreneur Elon Musk benefit from EU funds amounting to hundreds of millions.

According to a letter from the EU Commission to German Member of the European Parliament Daniel Freund (Greens), a subsidiary of Tesla is receiving nearly 159 million euros from the “Connecting Europe” funding program for the establishment of charging stations for electric cars.

Additionally, the US company SpaceX was able to charge around 197 million dollars (approximately 177 million euros) for the launch of satellites for the European satellite navigation system Galileo using Falcon 9 rockets. By October 2023, around 630,000 euros had also been incurred for paid advertising on the platform X, as indicated in the document available to the German Press Agency. This is the response to a parliamentary inquiry from Green MP Daniel Freund.

In light of the revelations, the German politician is now calling for an immediate halt to payments to companies led or controlled by billionaire Musk.

“This man is a declared enemy of the EU and our fundamental values. It cannot be that we pay the richest man in the world hundreds of millions in subsidies,” Freund criticizes. The principle must apply: “No EU money for the enemies of the EU.”

Musk supports German AfD

Musk is controversial in the EU, among other reasons, due to his work for US President Donald Trump and his open support for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany. His company X is also facing several proceedings for alleged violations of EU regulations for digital services. These are examining whether the platform complies with regulations to curb hate speech and disinformation.

The European Commission points out in its letter to Freund that since October 2023, no paid services from X have been utilized. Regarding the contracts for the two rocket launches with two Galileo satellites each, it states that these were an exception due to delays in the commissioning of the European Ariane 6 rocket.

At the same time, it remains unclear whether the listing is truly complete. The letter also refers to the publicly accessible financial transparency system (FTS) – along with the note that information for the 2024 budget year will not be published until June 2025. (May 13)