Germany Christmas market attack: Elon Musk slams Germany for not extraditing suspect Taleb A to Saudi Arabia

Billionaire Elon Musk lashed out at the German government over the car-ramming attack at a bustling Christmas market in Magdeburg, which killed five people and left over 200 injured, accusing it of “suicidal empathy”.

Calling the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, Taleb A, who was granted asylum by Germany in 2006 a “lunatic”, Musk said the accused should not have been allowed to enter the European country and instead, be extradited to his country of birth to face alleged terrorism and human trafficking charges.

The billionaire shared a 10-long thread by a Saudi political commentator, who alleged that Taleb A fled Saudi Arabia in 2006 after being accused of rape and implicated in serious crimes. It also claimed that Germany had ignored extradition requests from Saudi Arabia due to human rights concerns and the suspect allegedly carrying out criminal activities while working in a government hospital in Germany.

The thread also claimed in detail how he opened a site for Saudis and other people in the Gulf states fleeing persecution from their homelands and calling himself an ex-Muslim, which allegedly contributed to him getting a permanent residency in Germany. “Important thread to understand the magnitude of failure by the German government,” Musk captioned the thread.

“Yeah, he was obviously a lunatic who should never have been allowed to enter Germany and should have been extradited when Saudi Arabia made the request. Suicidal empathy by the German government,” Musk said in another tweet.

Musk, who is set to join US President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet as an outside advisor next year, has already called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to quit over the ghastly attack and called him an “incompetent fool”.

Reports suggest that Taleb had rented a BMW involved in the attack. Initial suspicions of an explosive device in the vehicle were investigated, but German police later confirmed that no explosives were found.

Verified posts on the suspect’s now-deleted X account revealed his support for anti-Islam and far-right groups, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Additionally, the posts criticised Germany’s approach to handling Saudi refugees.

Earlier, Musk slammed Germany for not extraditing Taleb to Saudi Arabia and said whoever refused to “extradite a murderer” deserved to be “punished severely”.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the suspect’s ‘Islamophobia’ as evident but refrained from commenting on his potential motive. Authorities were questioning Taleb to determine the motive of the attack.