Elon Musk and his role in the Magdeburg attack

Analyse

Taleb A. drove a BMW into the Christmas market, leaving five dead and more than 200 injured. A declared admirer of Elon Musk, he used the X platform, owned by the billionaire, to make threats. After the attack, Musk accused the German government of being responsible. But what about his own involvement?

Othmar von Matt / ch media

Even before the January 20 attack in Magdeburg, clues linked Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, author of the attack, to Elon Musk. This 50-year-old Saudi, self-proclaimed fan of the billionaire, regularly refers to Musk in his interviews and on seriously hundreds.

Eight days before his action, the American platform Rair Foundation USA, renowned for its anti-Islamic positions, published a 45-minute interview with Taleb A. In this interview, he openly expressed his admiration for Musk: “What ‘he says it’s true,’ he declares. According to him:

Taleb A. also accuses Germany of wanting to “Islamize” Europe, while claiming that the country persecutes Saudi refugees, particularly women. He relays these conspiracy theories extensively on X.

Since March 2016, Taleb A. has published 121,378 posts on Central German Broadcasting (a German public radio station). He arrived in Germany in 2006 on a visa to pursue a medical specialization, but in 2015 he was already considered a potential threat by several security agencies. In 2016 he was granted asylum and, from 2020, worked as a psychiatrist in a specialist facility in Bernburg.

Musk tweets: ‘Only the AfD can save Germany’

Taleb A.’s fascination with Elon Musk is obvious. On November 11, he shared a video of an advisor to Donald Trump saying that Musk rejects all religious books he finds “unconvincing.” Two weeks later, Taleb A. relayed a promotion made by Musk for The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad, a work denouncing the “viral forces” which, according to the author, threaten freedom and rationality in the West. Taleb A. describes this book as a “manual against Islam”.

The two men cross paths indirectly on Musk appears to view Naomie Seibt as a key figure in understanding Germany, sharing her photos and interacting with her posts. For his part, Taleb A. relays several posts from the young woman.

The day before the attack, Naomie Seibt criticized Friedrich Merz (CDU, conservative), tipped as future German chancellor, saying that he was “horrified” at the idea of ​​Germany following Musk’s example. The Twitter boss retweets this statement with a pithy sentence: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” After the attack, he repeats this message on X.

In World on SundayMusk goes even further, writing that “the AfD is the last hope for this country.” He adds:

Musk strongly criticizes the German government on X, even demanding the immediate resignation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whom he calls an “incompetent imbecile.” However, his own platform, X, did not react to Taleb A.’s repeated threats, although they can still be viewed today.

Following the news that Saudi Arabia had repeatedly requested the extradition of Taleb A., but that Germany would not deport him, Musk reacted by asking:

X did not react to the threats until the attack

There is, however, one subject that Elon Musk systematically leaves aside in his tweets after the attack: his responsibility, as owner of X, in the Magdeburg affair. Taleb A. used this platform precisely to make several threats which could be qualified as criminally reprehensible. In fact, he published threats that should have been reported well before the act. Some of these posts even included explicit images, and his profile sports an assault rifle. ????

Note that the X platform took no action against these threats before the attack. At least, to date there is no evidence to the contrary. These messages still remain accessible to everyone.

For example, that of August 13:

And on August 21, he asked: “Is there any way to achieve justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly massacring German citizens?” In doing so, he refers to Germany’s alleged “crimes against Saudi refugees.”

In May, Taleb A. even placed a threat on X directly under a message from German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). “It is very likely that I will die this year for justice to be done.” And: “German terrorism must be held accountable.” Did he announce his action of December 20 with his threatening tweets?

Taleb A. menace Nancy Fraeser.Image: watson/twitter

After the attack, Musk also attacked German media, accusing their coverage of the event of being “pure propaganda.” He shares a post by Maral Salmassi, an Iranian-German artist, claiming that Taleb A. is a Shiite radical using the Islamic principle of taqiya (religious concealment). According to her, he would never have been an admirer of Musk or the AfD.

The theory put forward by Maral Salmassi cannot be completely ruled out at this stage, although it seems unlikely. However, it suits Musk: it reflects his own beliefs and would offer him justification to dissociate himself from Taleb A.’s infatuation with him. Although he cannot control those who hold him up as a model, this situation is far from trivial.

Should the EU take action against Musk’s platform?

And now? With Taleb A.’s threats, X could find himself even more in the crosshairs of the European authorities. The European Commission has been investigating X for possible violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for some time. This European regulation requires social networks to delete publications containing illegal content, such as hate speech or false information.

“European law also applies to Elon Musk,” said Jens Zimmermann, digital policy expert for the SPD (Social Democrats), in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt after the attack. He added that if Musk continues to violate these rules, “severe sanctions will logically follow.”

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had already called on the European Union in January to take firm action against Musk’s platform, citing a Russian-originated disinformation campaign on X.

After the attack, Faeser gave an interview to the Funke Group media. She also mentioned Elon Musk, focusing on the “crazy ideas of this billionaire”. According to her, less attention should simply be paid to her statements.

(Translated and adapted by Chiara Lecca)