In the past, the EU has not hesitated to try to apply European law to tech companies. Over the past decade, for example, Google has faced three fines totaling more than $8 billion for breaking antitrust law (though one of these fines was overturned by the EU’s General Court in 2024).

Musk's support for AfD has helped what was once a fringe political party enter the mainstream, lifting it up in front of a global audience.