Most recently, Musk spread conspiracy theories about Muslim “grooming gangs” in the UK, and called for Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist, to be released from prison. Musk’s support for Robinson, who has a history of posting racist and Islamophobic content, initially saw Reform UK leader Nigel Farage push back against the owner of X. But in a TV show that he hosted on the right-wing GB News station this week, Farage appeared to bend the knee to Musk.

“I don’t think (Robinson) was wrong in everything he said,” Farage told his audience. “I asked why he was imprisoned, and kept in solitary.” (Robinson is in jail after being found in contempt of court for repeating lies about a Syrian refugee.)

Last year, Musk spent months fighting Brazil’s supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes after the court issued orders for X to remove certain accounts and content that, it said, violated the law by undermining faith in the integrity of the country’s elections. After the right wing of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro lost his bid for re-election in 2022, his supporters invaded the country’s legislature on January 8, 2023claiming the election was stolen (it wasn’t), in an echo of the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. Moraes is a strong against Bolsonaro. X spent months refusing to comply with the order, even handing over sealed court orders to the US Congress’ Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by right-wing congressman Jim Jordan, who then released them to the public.

At the time, many in Brazil felt that Musk’s actions, as well as the release of orders, were a step to undermine the country’s democracy and sovereignty. A Brazilian court eventually issued an order barring X from the country for non-compliance and issued a fine against Musk-owned Starlink, after X complied with the orders.

He is also terrible attacked Nicolas Maduropresident of Venezuela, during the country’s elections (which most of the international community believed to be rigged).

“He established himself as a powerful hub of connection between different groups of people in many countries,” said Christian Katzenbach, professor of media and communication at the University of Bremen. Those groups include people in the technology industry, moderate conservatives, advocates of economic liberalism, and right-wing movements. “These groups didn’t have much connection in the past, but are increasingly aligned in opposition to modern centre-left/left governments.” By amplifying different voices, he said, Musk is actively bringing right-wing views into mainstream debates and opening up new population groups as voters for right-wing parties.

Even outside of the election, Musk appears to be building alliances with like-minded leaders. In April, Musk met with Argentina’s right-wing president Javier Milei. Milei’s government is cutting spending the way Musk is said an X post “can be a helpful model for the rest of the world.” The poverty rate in Argentina under Milei’s government increased to more than 50 percent.

And while Musk certainly seems motivated by particular political ideologies, Katzenbach says Musk’s involvement in European politics will benefit his business interests, particularly by rolling back the regulation of social media in the bloc or opening new roads for his companies. The EU today check X for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), which may result in fines. In Italy, Musk explores an agreement with the right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni for an agreement to launch satellite communications through Starlink at a cost of $1.5 billion, competing with a European satellite initiative.

“Internationally his motives are certainly a mixed bag,” Katzenbach said. But either way, Musk seems determined to become a political force beyond any national border.

David Gilbert contributed reporting.