Left-wing German Green MEP Daniel Freund has submitted a written question to the European Commission demanding a full breakdown of European Union funds allocated to Elon Musk-linked companies and pushing for the commission to stop such payments.
“Can the Commisison provide a detailed list of EU funding allocated to companies owned or controlled by Elon Musk – SpaceX, Tesla, X, Neuralink, the Boring Company, xAI – and any other relevant entities linked to Musk over the past five years?,” he wrote on March 4.
His request extended to grants, advertising fees, tenders and subsidies, with an inquiry into both the sums involved and the specific EU programmes behind them.
“I want to know how much taxpayers’ money goes to the richest man in the world,” the German MEP said on X on March 5 before adding: “Maybe we should reconsider some of these payments.”
Citing an X post earlier the same day highlighting that Tesla chargers in Norway were co-funded by the EU, Freund argued that public money going into Musk companies was undeniable.
“People are out complaining a lot about the EU, this and that. Yet pretty much every new Tesla supercharger from Narvik in the north of Norway to Gibraltar is co-paid for with EU money,” the X post he referred to said.
Freund’s comments have sparked criticism, with some social media users saying his demands were” childish and petulant”.
On February 13, Freund had also accused Musk and US President Donald Trump of “stealing public money”.
“If there’s one thing Musk and Trump have learned from [Hungary Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán, it’s how to shamelessly steal public money”, he said on X, referring to a New York Times article claiming the US State Department planned to purchase armoured Tesla Cybertrucks worth $400 million (€374 million).
The Green MEP’s call to defund Musk-related projects, including Tesla across the bloc, was seen by many as questionable, given that electric vehicles play a crucial role in the EC’s “green” transition plans.
Left-wing German MEP Daniel Freund has taken to social media to plead for the European Union to fill the funding gap left by USAID’s withdrawal from Hungary. https://t.co/KZHDlTPkvS
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 7, 2025
