BERLIN: German officials on Friday brushed off tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling Olaf Scholz a `fool` on his social media platformX after the dramatic collapse of the chancellor`s coalition government.

In a comment on Thursday above a post about the implosion of Scholz`s long-troubled coalition, the world`s richest man tweeted in German: `Olaf ist ein Narr` `Olaf is a fool`.

Asked about Musk`s comment, government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that `on X, you have Narrenfreiheit`, which translates to the freedom to act like a fool.

The word refers to revellers during Germany`s traditional carnival season, which starts next week, having the freedom to act without inhibitions.

Historically, the term echoes the notion of the `jester`s privilege` the right of a court jester to mock those in power without being punished by the king.

Asked later about the comment, a tight-lipped Scholz simply called it `not very friendly`, adding that internet companies are `not organs of state so I did not even pay it any attention`.

Musk supported US election winner Donald Trump and is now positioned to take up a role in his administration as a deputy tasked with restructuring government operations.

It is not the first time the Tesla boss has had run-ins with German officials online.

Last year he said Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an `invasion` of Italy, sparking a terse response from the German foreign ministry.

He has also expressed sympathy for some of the positions of Germany`s far-right AfD party, which has notched up a string ofrecent electoralsuccesses and is riding high in the opinion polls.-AFP