The tech billionaire continues to eye up ways of meddling in UK politics
Elon Musk is said to be holding private talks with allies about ways to remove Keir Starmer as prime minister before the next general election, according to sources who have spoken to the FT.
Musk, who is reportedly considering donating $100m (£80m) to Reform UK, is looking at how he and rightwing allies can destabilise the Labour government.
However, on Sunday, Musk posted on X stating that Reform UK needs a “new leader” because Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes”.
Over the last week, the world’s richest man has shared inflammatory posts attacking Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister over grooming gangs on his social media platform X.
Sources who spoke to the FT have warned that Musk’s attempts to interfere in UK politics may go beyond his social media posts.
One source told the newspaper that Musk’s “view is that western civilisation itself is threatened”.
The tech billionaire has also been trying to influence German politics, promoting the nationalist
Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party ahead of the election next month. Later today, he will host a live chat on X with the far-right party’s leader, Alice Weidel.
Matt Goodwin, a rightwing political commentator, said the owner of X and other Americans had become “fascinated” by the grooming gangs scandal in the UK over the past week in part because “it’s so horrific”.
However, he also told the FT he believes Musk’s interest in the issue comes from “an instinctive distrust of the Labour government and Keir Starmer”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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