Elon Musk has called for Nigel Farage to be replaced as leader of Reform UK, just weeks after the tech billionaire was reportedly in talks to donate a substantial amount to the party.
In a post on X, Musk said Farage "doesn't have what it takes" to lead the party. The surprising souring of relations came just hours after Farage described Musk as a "friend" and called him a "hero" of free speech in an interview with the BBC.
The fall-out appears to be connected to Musk's support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, whom Farage has condemned, said The Independent.
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Musk's involvement in UK politics has intensified in a series of posts that target Keir Starmer, accusing him of failing to properly prosecute "rape gangs" while he was director of public prosecutions. Musk also called safeguarding minister Jess Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" who "deserves to be in prison".
Musk poses "a delicate new challenge for Britain’s political leaders", said CNN. Starmer is "taking great pains to charm" President-elect Donald Trump, while "also hoping to hold back at home the growing influence of Reform UK".
For many Labour MPs, Musk's "anger – like much online trolling – remains little more than a sideshow", but others find themselves asking: "why us?" Unlike in other European countries, such as Germany, "there is no impending parliamentary election through which Musk can exert his influence", leaving many scratching their heads over Musk's apparent fixation with British politics.
While the next general election is still as much as four years away, "Musk can't be entirely ignored". With Labour "desperate to build trust with the Trump administration" and to generate economic growth at home, "the delicate nature of Starmer’s relationship with Trump may depend on keeping the billionaire at arm's length – for as long as that remains possible".
Earlier today, Starmer called out "those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible", although, notably, he refrained from naming Musk among them. Indeed, the "concern in No. 10 is that meeting fire with fire will only escalate the row further, and give Musk more oxygen", said The Times. And for No. 10, "the importance of retaining good relations with Trump cannot be overstated", after the president-elect "spent much of the US election campaign threatening to impose a blanket 10% tariffs on imports", a move that would do "huge damage" to Britain's economic prospects, a key priority for Starmer's government.
Musk has demonstrated that he is "capable of setting the political weather in the UK", with both the Conservatives and Reform UK now backing his calls for a public inquiry into grooming gangs. But as his volte-face on Farage this weekend demonstrates, the Tesla and X boss can be a "precarious ally". "So for now the strategy for dealing with Musk remains unchanged – to challenge him on points of fact but to avoid directly confronting him over his rhetoric."
What next?
Britain is far from Musk's "only target in Europe", said Euractiv. He met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, "a leading figure on the radical right", in December at his Florida home, and Musk has "also been accused of interference by the German government for his strong support of the far-right AfD party ahead of parliamentary elections". He is due to host a conversation with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel on X later this week.
And Musk could soon turn his attentions towards Paris, said Politico, with President Emmanuel Macron reportedly "desperate to get him onside".
