Elon Musk Spent His Christmas Break Venting Angrily Online and in a German Publication
Between Christmas and New Year's, there's a sense of aimlessness. You can use this time to reconnect with family, zone out with video games and TV, and indulge in leftover holiday feasts. During this period, Elon Musk, the wealthiest person in history with at least 12 kids, is causing a stir online over visas and penning an opinion piece in a German publication.
Where to even begin.
There was a brief spat between Trump supporters and tech billionaires just before Christmas, centered around H1-B Visas. Immigrant-turned-billionaire Elon Musk thinks Americans are lazy and entitled, and he wants to bring in more skilled tech workers to the US via H1-B Visas to help the country thrive.
“A culture that celebrates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach and Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters’ will not produce excellent engineers,” Ramaswamy tweeted on December 26, a day most of us are so stuffed with holiday food that we're immobile.
Ramaswamy and Musk then spent a few days squabbling with their online following on X, the All-In-One App. Musk dished out scolding and reprimands with confidence in the days following Christmas, which likely ate into his gaming time (lost opportunity playing Path of Exile 2). Unfortunate, really. A post published on December 26th summarized the situation. The post claimed that Americans are fools. Musk agreed, then withdrew his agreement. He declared that extreme, unapologetic racists should be ousted from the Republican Party.
Challenging, definitely.
As Musk defended himself against the trolls he had cultivated on the $44 billion site he bought, the world also learned about Adrian Dittmann. Many speculate that Dittmann might be Musk.
Dittmann is a celebrated X account that comes to Musk's defense. Dittmann's account has been active since 2021 and has spent the majority of that time backing the embattled billionaire. Musk and Dittmann first appeared together on Twitter in 2023. They repeated this act during the H1-B visa controversy.
However, Dittmann sounds and acts exactly like Elon Musk. The account seems to exist only to boost Musk's ego and defend his various opinions. When they're in the same digital space, it's tough to distinguish between the two. This has led to accusations that Dittmann is a Musk alias, even by Musk's estranged daughter.
The truth about Dittmann remains a mystery. Is it Musk running a cover or just a fanatic who adores Musk so much that he mimics him and champions his causes online? Either theory is too unsettling to ponder in these strange days between Christmas and New Year's.
By the way, Germany will be holding a parliamentary election soon. Musk is aware of this. Germany's government is in turmoil, and the coalition that held it together has fallen apart. By the end of February, Germans will decide their country's future. Musk has expressed a desire for Germany to make a right-wing shift.
The billionaire triggered another controversy before the new year by publishing an opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, endorsing the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Musk claimed that Germany was on the brink of an “economic and cultural collapse” and that AfD was the country's last lifeline.
The AfD party stumbles into Nazi-related controversies about once every few weeks. It could be beneficial for Musk's international business ventures, which justifies his endorsement in the paper. Heralding the AfD in the paper was so scandalous that Welt am Sonntag's editor resigned in protest.
It's uncertain if any of this will impact the vote in February, but it does suggest Musk aiming to flex his political muscle beyond US borders. He endorsed AfD on December 25th. I wonder what he'll do when he finds out about the extreme, unapologetic racists in the AfD's ranks.
Elon Musk rung in 2025 with the same vigor he'd cultivated in 2024. Whereas the rest of us enjoyed time with our families, finished one last draft before seeing a Nosferatu matinee, or caught up with old friends, Musk chose to spar with netizens online. The holidays can be tough, especially for some of us. Musk's solution seems to be to keep posting until the new year.
In the future, Elon Musk's political influence might extend beyond US borders, as seen by his endorsement of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Given his strong stance on technology and innovation, Musk often advocates for a future where skilled tech workers, such as those sought via H1-B Visas, can contribute to the US's technological advancement.
