elon musk

lately, elon musk has been cozying up to far-right leaders in europe. wondering why? here's the breakdown:

• background: musk comes from a family with a certain mindset—he's a white south african, which might hint at some of his core beliefs. but the main driver here is economic.

• centralized europe: most european countries have strong central governments, even places like germany and switzerland with federal systems. this centralized structure leads to heavy regulations, which pose challenges for global corporations.

• a lucrative market: europe is an incredible market for the united states—500 million people right across the atlantic, even more than the u.s. population. it's also one of the wealthiest regions in the world, with plenty of money to spend (though it doesn't always do so), and high social welfare standards.

• a "new america": u.s.-based companies see europe as a "new america"—a prosperous region that hasn't fully embraced a consumer culture. trump and musk both want access to that wealth.

• eu regulations: the biggest obstacle is european union regulations. global corporations can't operate as freely in europe because there are strict rules and governments pay close attention to citizens' well-being and assets. advertising laws, for instance, are designed to prevent mindless overconsumption. energy, agriculture, retail, finance, logistics—the government is heavily involved, often supported by pro-people, democratic parties.

• why the far right? musk wants to bring far-right parties to power in europe, not because they're anti-immigrant (that's mostly a populist talking point), but because they favor liberal economic policies. he wants to see europe governed in a way that opens the market to u.s. capital.

• falling behind: europe, once the leader of the industrial revolution, has fallen behind the u.s. and china in the information revolution. look at europe's biggest companies: they're still in heavy industry, with a few major banks—no major high-tech giants.

• tech gap: the u.s. and china excel at turning data into profit. they're ahead in ai and space tech. europe's leadership is split on how to catch up—left and social democratic parties push for state-backed initiatives and eu-supported investment programs. they want a more state-driven model.

• space race example: in response to spacex's starlink, the eu is planning its own alternative but is moving too slowly, aiming to launch only 200–300 satellites by 2030. this is likely frustrating musk.

• right-wing approach: conservative parties prefer a more liberal economic model, believing it's smarter to buy from their ally, the u.s., rather than develop everything in-house. they see the eu as lagging.

• case in point: for proof, check out prime minister meloni's negotiations in italy with spacex: https://www.euronews.com/...x-telecom-security-services-deal

• musk's goal: this is why elon musk supports europe's liberal-right parties. they hold the key to opening europe up to u.s. capital. the eu is already a market for the u.s., but america wants to tap even deeper into europe's wealth.

• a profitable market: from a purely logical standpoint, europe is an ideal market—rich, with a sky-high gdp. far more profitable than getting tangled up in the middle east.