Elon Musk nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

This nomination was in recognition of his contributions to the defence of free speech and human rights, European Parliament member Branko Grims said in his Facebook post.

Billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency for the United States, Elon Musk has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

European Parliament member Branko Grims has confirmed that a petition for Elon Musk's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 has been submitted to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

This nomination was in recognition of his contributions to the defence of free speech and human rights, Grims said in his Facebook post.

Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the owner of the social media platform X. He is now heavily involved in the new Trump administration, following his appointment as the head of DOGE.

When acquiring X, formerly Twitter, Musk had pushed the idea that he was doing so for free speech. He explained his meaning of free speech at the time, "By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.

I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.

If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.

Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people."

He has since upped the ante on his call for free speech, and said that his platform X believes in it.

As recently as January 21, Musk called the chancellor of Germany "Oaf Schitz" on his social media platform X on Tuesday, responding to a video of the leader's comments on free speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"Shame on Oaf Schitz!" Musk wrote in a post, after Olaf Scholz said freedom of speech should not support extreme-right views.

The deadline for submission of nominations to the committee is February 1, according to the Nobel Prize website. The winners will be announced in October after the Nobel Committee chooses the Nobel Prize laureates through a majority vote.

The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony takes place on December 10 in Oslo, Norway, where the laureates receive their Nobel Prize, which consists of a Nobel Prize medal and diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount.