Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage, calls on him to quit as Reform party leader

London: Elon Musk’s tempestuous relationship with the UK took a turn when the tech billionaire called for populist figure Nigel Farage to be replaced as leader of the Reform party, after the British politician refused to endorse some of Musk’s latest online claims.

The Tesla boss, poised to play a key role in US President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration, had previously heaped praise on Farage, urging people to “vote Reform”, and calling the party the UK’s “only hope”.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announces that he will stand during the upcoming general election during a press conference in London.Credit: Getty Images

Musk has repeatedly posted on his social media platform X about UK politics since Labour was elected in July – from Sir Keir Starmer’s response to the summer riots to the country’s tax policy.

Over the past week, Musk has posted dozens of times about a historical scandal involving sexual grooming gangs in the north of England, mainly to complain about failures in holding perpetrators to account. The tensions around the scandal contributed to race riots that took place in August, during which Musk also clashed with the British government.

On Friday, Musk claimed Starmer was “complicit in the rape of Britain”, in reference to the now-prime minister’s previous role as director of public prosecutions for England and Wales when evidence of the gangs came to light over a decade ago.

He also described Jess Phillips, the UK’s minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, as a “rape genocide apologist” and a “wicked witch” and has endorsed social media posts calling on King Charles to dissolve parliament and call an election.

Elon Musk has thoughts to share about British politics.Credit: Bloomberg

In a sign of growing differences, on Sunday Farage refused to endorse Musk’s language relating to Starmer and Phillips. “I don’t agree with everything he stands for,” he told the BBC.

Musk has also repeatedly called for the release of jailed anti-Islam campaigner Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and who has been in prison since October for contempt of court. Robinson admitted in court to breaching an injunction against repeating claims about a Syrian refugee schoolboy after losing a 2021 libel case.

Farage has spent years trying to distance himself from Robinson, who has been previously jailed for assault and mortgage fraud, and told the BBC he was “not what we need” in the Reform party.

Pressed on whether he thought Musk’s comments about British political figures were acceptable, Farage said: “The fact that Musk supports me and supports Reform doesn’t mean as two grown-ups we have to agree with everything the other says.” He added: “But I do believe in free speech. I think he’s a hero.”

Elon Musk, Nigel Farage and (left) Reform UK treasurer and property billionaire Nick Candy at Mar-a-Lago.Credit: Instagram

In a post on his social media site, Musk later said Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the party – but did not expand on his reasoning. He then posted positively about Reform MP Rupert Lowe, saying “his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense”.

After Musk’s X post, Farage responded by quoting it and writing: “Well, this is a surprise! Elon is a remarkable individual but on this, I am afraid I disagree. My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”

Musk met Farage in December at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a meeting which Farage described as “historic” and “great”. Farage told the BBC he planned to “have a conversation with [Musk] on a variety of things” – including Robinson – at Trump’s inauguration later this month.

A leading figure in the UK’s referendum vote to leave the European Union, Farage founded Reform UK in 2018, then called the Brexit Party, and returned as the party’s leader before being elected as an MP in 2024 along with four others.

Reform’s roughly four million votes translates into a 14 per cent share of the total votes cast in the election, handing Labour several seats across the country at the Conservative Party’s expense.

There had been growing speculation that the world’s richest man was planning to make a significant financial intervention into British politics, as he did in the 2024 US election which saw Donald Trump win and Musk gain the president-elect’s ear and a role advising on a major government shake-up.

Musk later posted approvingly about a piece written by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch in The Mail on Sunday in which she called for a full public enquiry into the scandal of numerous separate gangs of South Asian men abusing girls in towns around the country.

Britain is one of several European countries where Musk is trying to replicate the influence he wielded on behalf of Trump in the US election.

In Germany, his advocacy of a far-right party with neo-Nazi ties, Alternative for Germany, has enraged the mainstream parties.

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