Trump hailed the result as a "GREAT DAY FOR GERMANY," while the far-right AfD party that Elon Musk has championed made historic gains.

Elon Musk endorsed AfD, an anti-immigration party that just won the most support of any far-right party since World War II.

In spite of the Tesla CEO's best efforts, the AfD performed no better than had been expected when snap elections were called.

Germany's opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result,

Germany's conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz won a lackluster victory in a national election Sunday, while Alternative for Germany doubled its support in the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II,

After an election dominated by immigration and economic issues, Germany’s likely new chancellor is Friedrich Merz, the leader of the conservative Christian Democrats. His party finished first with just under 29 percent of the vote and will need to form a coalition government.

Germany’s centre-right leader Friedrich Merz won federal elections on Sunday, clearing his path to become Chancellor at a time of economic and political upheaval for Europe’s biggest democracy. Merz’s CDU/CSU secured around 29 per cent of the vote,