Fact check: Do Musk and Weidel's claims hold up?

Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), discussed German politics and more on Thursday during an audio chat on X with US billionaire Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform.

The public conversation between the two, which was followed live by around 200,000 people, had been eagerly awaited but also sharply criticized by other German politicians and parties.

During the chat, AfD leader Weidel told Musk what she thinks is going wrong in Germany. Musk was impressed — and renewed his election recommendation for the AfD as the "only party that can save Germany."

Their conversation lasted more than an hour. Here are some of the most controversial claims, and what the facts say.

Weidel 'the leading candidate to run Germany'?

The claim: Musk presented Weidel in the title of his X Space chat as "the leading candidate to run Germany."

The facts: If Musk meant to suggest that Weidel was leading in opinion polls, his claim was not correct. Weidel's far-right AfD is currently in second place, according to a survey ahead of the February 23 federal election in Germany.

The center-right CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, are currently the strongest political force in Germany with 31% suppoert, based on the most recent polling from ARD Deutschlandtrend. The AfD is polling at around 20%. 

Neither is Weidel leading as an individual candidate.

Based on the same nationwide survey, which is conducted by Infratest dimap, Weidel placed in fifth when it comes to satisfaction with the work of various candidates. 

Only 20% of respondents said they were satisfied with Weidel as a candidate for chancellor. She was behind Robert Habeck, the chancellor candidate for the environmentalist Greens at 28%, the CDU's Friedrich Merz at 25%, Sarah Wagenknecht, with her own new eponymous party BSW at 21% and the business-focused FDP's Christian Lindner, also at 21%.

Olaf Scholz, the incumbent German chancellor from the center-left SPD, ranked similarly to Weidel, although other polls have shown her ahead of Merz and Scholz. Nevertheless, most polls do not show Weidel with a chance of winning the German election

Is Germany the first industrial country to shut down nuclear plants?

The claim: During her talk with the Musk on X, Weidel claimed, "Germany is the only industrial country that unplugged the nuclear power plant."

The facts: Italy shut down its nuclear plants more than three decades before Germany. Shortly after the Chernobyl disaster, a nationwide referendum was held in Italy in 1987. According to the archives of the Italian Interior Ministry, nearly 80% of participants voted in favor of shutting down the country's nuclear plants. By 1990, Italy had phased out all its existing nuclear facilities.

By comparison, Germany closed its last remaining nuclear plants in 2023.

Is nuclear energy carbon neutral?

The claim: Weidel claimed during the X-Space chatt that "nuclear energy supply is carbon-free."

The facts: Nuclear energy is considered a carbon-free source of electricity by some institutions, because it does not produce carbon dioxide (CO2) or other greenhouse gases during its operation. That is why some political parties like Weidel's AfD critisize the decision to phase out nuclear energy, as some see nuclear power as an alternative for the energy mix in Germany. 

But considering the entire life cycle of a nuclear plant, nuclear energy does produce emissions. The life cycle emissions of nuclear power plants include all stages from uranium mining to plant construction, operation, decommissioning and waste management.

Nuclear energy certainly has lower CO2 emissions than coal or natural gas, but it is not "carbon free."

The figures on how much CO2 a nuclear power plant generates per kilowatt-hour vary: In 2014, an IPCC report estimated a range from 4 to 110 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) — so it's not carbon neutral. 

A UK-based study found that nuclear power has a minimal carbon footprint of around 15–50 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour.

The processes to mine and refine uranium ore require huge amounts of energy, often from fossil fuels. And the construction of a nuclear plant, with the large amounts of concrete and steel needed, is also a significant cause of CO2 emissions. 

Did Merkel open Germany's borders to illegal immigration in 2015? 

The claim: "Without asking the people, she [Angela Merkel] enforced to open our borders to illegal immigration," Weidel said during the live talk.

The facts: Weidel is referring to the events of early September 2015, when thousands of refugees, many coming from Syria, made their way from Hungary to Germany via Austria. Then-Chancellor Angela Merkel decided not to close the border to stop them and temporarily suspended rules which would have meant return to the first EU country or safe transit country. This decision has been highly debated ever since.

The claim that Merkel "opened" the borders is not accurate. In 2015, all of Germany‘s neighboring countries were part of the so-called Schengen area, meaning there were no border controls between any of those countries and Germany. Later, in 2021, the rules for border controls were changed by the EU in its communication"A strategy towards a fully functioning and resilient Schengen area."

On September 13, 2015, the German government instituted temporary border controls with Austria. 

There has been political debate about whether or not the government should have stopped the refugees from entering Germany in the first place. The country‘s immigration law states that foreigners shall be refused entry if they enter from a safe third country, which includes Austria.

The German government has argued that it acted in accordance with the EU’s Dublin III regulations on immigration, which allow a state to examine someone's asylum application, even if it is not obliged to. 

In 2017, the European Court of Justiceconfirmed that EU states may indeed take in asylum-seekers voluntarily, but that such border crossings may still be illegal under the Dublin Regulation.

Is 'theft legal in California'?

The claim: "Theft is legal in California," Musk claimed, adding that if stolen goods are below $1,000 (around €970), thieves allegedly won't be prosecuted. 

The facts: Theft is not legal in California, as can be seen for example in this press release by the state's governor, reporting about a statewide enforcement operation targeting organized retail theft crime.

The claim, which has previously been stated by US President-elect Donald Trump, refers to Proposition 47, a significant criminal justice reform approved by California voters in 2014, which aimed to reduce penalties for certain theft and drug possession offenses. 

Under Proposition 47, which was passed in 2014, the theft of goods valued at $950 or less are classified as a misdemeanor, not a felony. This reclassification was part of a broader criminal justice reform effort aimed at reducing prison overcrowding. However, theft under $950 is still illegal and punishable by up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,000. 

Proposition 47 did not decriminalize theft but changed how crimes are prosecuted. The law eliminated the discretion of prosecutors to charge theft under $950 as a felony, except in cases involving repeat offenders or certain aggravating circumstances. 

While enforcement may be constrained in some cases due to practical considerations like jail overcrowding, law enforcement agencies and the California Highway Patrol continue to target theft, especially organized retail crime.

For instance, statewide operations in December continued to lead to arrests, recovery of stolen goods, and measures to deter retail theft. 

7 million migrants in Germany since 2015? 

The claim: "In Germany, we had an influx of almost 7 million people, but these are the officially counted ones," Weidel claimed, while accusing the German government of wasting money on immigration and blaming it for unregulated, illegal migration.

Immediately after that, Weidel shifted the discussion toward undocumented migrants who enter Germany without a passport, failing to clearly distinguish between them and other categories of migrants. 

The facts: The figure Weidel cited — an "influx of 7 million people" — is roughly in line with official data on migration to Germany. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this number reflects total migration figures since 2015. 

However, Weidel's statement is misleading because it conflates different types of migration. It groups together legal migration, such as skilled workers and business owners, with asylum-seekers.

According to Eurostat, Germany has received approximately 3 million asylum applications since 2015, with some applications ultimately being rejected. 

Anna Bakovic contributed to this fact check.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery