With the megaphone of the X platform and 210 million followers, the world’s richest man has increasingly projected his influence around the globe in recent weeks, taking aim at American allies and stirring up populism in Europe.
Elon Musk, now poised for a role in government as Donald Trump’s efficiency tsar, waded into British politics over the weekend, hitting out at the Prime Minister for his handling of historical sex offences against children.
The row came to a head with Musk polling his supporters on X on whether they would support America ‘liberating’ Britain from what he called their ‘tyrannical’ center-left Labour government.
In Germany, battling a resurgence in far-right populism, Musk has stirred controversy with rousing commentary that ‘only’ the anti-Muslim AfD party can ‘save’ the country.
And in Canada, Musk has lamented Justin Trudeau for his views on women’s progress in government positions, aligning himself with a firebrand politician on the Right.
As Elon Musk continues to pass judgement on Western leaders, often fact-checked with his own Community Notes, leaders are still working out how best to handle him.
Elon Musk speaks at a rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27, 2024
Elon Musk shared a poll on his platform today, polling users on their support for an American ‘liberation’ of Britain from what he called its ‘tyrannical’ centre-left Labour government
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was the most recent to try to stem Musk’s aggressive messages after days of incendiary posts over historical sex offences against children in northern England.
Musk accused the centre-left Labour leader of being ‘deeply complicit in the mass rapes’ and ‘utterly despicable’ as a major row escalated with members of the British government.
The issue has long been seized upon by far-right figures including the imprisoned Tommy Robinson, one of Britain’s best known far-right agitators, whom Musk has praised and said should be released from jail.
Responding to media questions on the topic, Starmer insisted he was ‘not going to individualise this to Elon Musk’ but said ‘a line has been crossed’ with some of the online criticism.
‘Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves,’ Starmer told reporters, without naming Musk.
‘I’m prepared to call out this for what it is. We’ve seen this playbook many times: the whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it.’
The grooming scandal involved the widespread abuse of girls in northern English towns, including Rochdale, Rotherham and Oldham.
A series of court cases eventually led to the conviction of dozens of men, mostly of South Asian origin. The victims were vulnerable, mostly white, girls.
Subsequent official reports into how police and social workers failed to halt the abuse in some cases found that officials turned a blind eye to avoid appearing racist.
None of the probes singled out Starmer – who was director of public prosecutions at the time – for blame or found that he had tried to block prosecutions.
Notably, Starmer stopped short of condemning Musk, now pegged for a role in Trump’s government. The Times reported that he was unlikely to criticize Musk directly due to his proximity to the president-elect.
Some Labour officials have been less discreet.
Zarah Sultana MP wrote on X on Sunday: ‘The world’s richest man & insecure nepo-baby shouldn’t be allowed to dictate UK politics.
‘Yet some politicians act like sycophants & his unhinged outbursts dominate news, while our democracy is serially undermined.
‘We must break the super-rich’s grip on our media & politics.’
Early this morning, Musk posted a poll on X, writing ‘America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government’ and options of ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
At the time of writing, just under 60 per cent of voters had voted ‘yes’, from nearly 1,050,000 responses.
Community moderators were quick to cite figures on press and political freedom in reminding Musk that Britain is not a ‘tyranny’.
But Musk’s agitating in Britain has not fallen solely with the government.
Elon Musk shocked many with his sudden criticism of Reform leader Nigel Farage
Musk previously jibed that ‘very few companies’ want to invest in Keir Starmer’s Britain and on Thursday, the tycoon even called for a new UK general election
The X owner had previously been linked to Britain’s immigration-critical Reform party.
At one point, Musk was rumored to be considering a donation of up to $100mn to help the rising party compete with the Conservatives and Labour – Britain’s two dominant factions.
But only yesterday, Musk made an about-turn, writing on X that ‘the Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes’ – just hours after party leader Nigel Farage described him as a friend who made Reform look ‘cool’.
The volte-face came after Farage distanced himself from British anti-immigration and anti-Muslim activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known by the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, who is serving a prison sentence for contempt of court.
Farage has been reluctant to embrace Robinson, insisting during the UK election over the summer that he never wants ‘anything to do with’ the far-right firebrand and accusing him of stirring up ‘hatred’ during rioting in August, following the killing of three schoolgirls in Southport.
The Reform leader, bemused by Musk’s calls for him to step down, quoted the post on Sunday, 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.’
The schism between Farage and potential-ally Musk was celebrated by critics of the populist Reform party.
Jason Okundaye of The Guardian wrote on X: ‘Unironically the best thing he could’ve said, we absolutely do not need a Musk-backed Farage and there’s no Reform party without Farage anyway.’
When a Finnish student, critical of Musk’s influence on British politics, accused the X owner of spreading disinformation, he responded, ‘F u r*****’, against X’s own rules on slurs and tropes.
Musk has espoused support for the far-right AfD party in Germany
Musk gestures as he steps on stage during a rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27
Elon Musk and Donald Trump put on a chummy display in October during the presidential campaign
Musk has also taken interest in German political affairs, wading in to espouse support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the election.
The AfD is running second in opinion polls and might be able to thwart either a center-right or center-left majority, but Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have vowed to shun support from the AfD at national level.
Europe’s leading power is expected to vote on Feb. 23 after a centre-left coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.
Musk took a hard stance in calling for Scholz to resign after a deadly attack at a German Christmas market in Magdeburg last month.
‘Scholz should resign immediately,’ Musk posted on X, adding: ‘Incompetent fool.’
‘Only the AfD can save Germany,’ Musk added.
The German government said it had taken note of Musk’s post but declined to give any further comment at its regular press conference.
Musk had already voiced support for the AfD last year, when he attacked the German government’s handling of illegal migration.
But as his rhetoric became more targeted, Musk penned a guest opinion piece for Germany’s West am Sonntag newspaper, reifying his support for the party in an expanded commentary.
Musk called the AfD the ‘last spark of hope’ for Germany, claiming the country was ‘on the brink of economic and cultural collapse’.
The world’s richest man argued it was his place to comment as he had invested in the country; a factory producing cars and batteries for Tesla opened in 2022.
‘The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!’ Musk said in the piece.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD at the national level as a suspected extremism case since 2021.
Shortly after the piece was published online, the editor of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the commentary.
Elon Musk lashed out at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Outside of Europe, Musk has looked north.
Musk previously claimed there was ‘no constitutional right to freedom of speech in Canada’, which was quickly flagged by fact checkers on X.
Last month, he went on to call Justin Trudeau an ‘insufferable tool’ who he said ‘won’t be in power for much longer’. Trudeau announced he would step down today.
The comments came in response to Trudeau’s remarks at an event hosted by the Equal Voice Foundation – an organization dedicated to improving gender representation in Canadian politics.
Trudeau had said there were regressive forces working against women’s progress in the political forum, adding that he was a proud feminist and ally to the cause.
More recently, Musk shared his support for populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
The influence of Elon Musk in foreign affairs has moved even governments not directly within his signs to condemn his online posts.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the SpaceX boss was ‘directly intervening in elections’, including in Germany where Scholz eventually condemned Musk for his ‘erratic’ comments after he was branded a ‘fool’ and over Musk’s support for AfD.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said today he found it ‘worrying’ that someone with so much wealth and influence was getting involved in the politics of European countries.
Nigel Farage has also had a falling out with Mr Musk, after speculation about a huge donation to Reform UK
As Elon Musk continues to pass judgement on Western leaders, often fact-checked with his own Community Notes, leaders are still working out how best to handle him
Elon Musk has increasingly aligned himself with positions on the Right in the U.S., though his camp has been split by positions on immigration.
Musk has echoed Trump’s rhetoric on closing borders, but turned off many voters with comments supporting short-term visas for foreign workers, which critics said left behind American talent.
But his divisive views, shared openly and widely on his platform, X, have roused fears of much wider political interference in recent weeks as he weighs in on political issues around the world.
Modern leaders face new challenges in managing criticism and disinformation online. The varied responses so far show a solution is far from obvious.