Elon Musk set off a bomb under his supposed Reform UK allies today by demanding Nigel Farage be replaced as party leader.
The X owner and world’s richest man lashed out at a man who has branded him a ‘hero’ and is a fellow close ally and supporter of Donald Trump.
The two met less than three weeks ago at the incoming US president’s Mar-a-Lago estate amid rumours that Musk was poised to plough as much as $100million (£79million) into Reform.
But after a week in which he has used his social media platform to attack major UK political figures on the left over sex abuse gangs, he astonished right-wing politics by gunning for Mr Farage.
‘The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,’ Mr Musk wrote.
He did not clarify why he had changed his mind, but the volte face came just a day after Mr Farage distanced Reform from Musk’s support for Tommy Robinson, the jailed co-founder of the far-right English Defence League.
Mr Farage’s reply suggested he believed this was the reason, as he said: ‘My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.’
And in a later tweet Mr Musk appeared to throw his support behind Rupert Lowe, the political novice Reform MP for Great Yarmouth and former chairman of Southampton Football Club.
Replying to a tweet suggesting Mr Lowe take over, Mr Musk wrote: ‘I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense.’
It comes just weeks after they met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to discuss a donation to Reform, reported to be up to $100million.
Mr Farage this morning referred to Musk as his ‘American friend’ and refused to criticise him over remarks he made about Sir Keir Starmer and senior ministers which have been branded inflammatory.
The billionaire accused the PM of being complicit in the sex attacks by British Asian men, in his former role as director of public prosecutions.
Farage used a BBC interview to claim Musk’s support for Reform UK makes the party look ‘cool’ and helps it attract younger supporters.
Yesterday, at the Reform conference, chairman Zua Yusuf asked members to ‘picture the day when, in just a few years’ time, prime minister Nigel Farage triumphantly arrives at No 10 Downing Street, puts his briefcase down on the desk and takes a seat’.
Tories were quick to jump in to compound Mr Farage’s misery. Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty tweeted: ‘Will you be standing aside Nigel? I’ve heard Rupert (Lowe, the Reform MP) is ready to replace you.’
And Andrew Lewin, the Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield, added: ‘Ah Nigel, you should never meet your heroes.’
The owner of Tesla and X had a meeting that also included Reform treasurer Nick Candy last month, which Mr Farage described as ‘historic’.
Mr Farage also keen to promote himself as a fixer for new US ambassador Peter Mandelson, after even being touted as an outside choice for the senior diplomatic role himself.
Mr Musk wrote on his social media website X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday: ‘Free Tommy Robinson.’
But last night he distanced his party from Robinson, who is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court over social media messages about a teenage migrant, which began in October.
And the following day, Mr Farage told GB News: ‘He’s very supportive of me. He’s very supportive of the party.
‘He sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs. But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court.’
Mr Farage continued: ‘But equally, there are people in Britain who think that Robinson is a political prisoner. That’s the narrative that he’s pushed out. That’s how he earns his living but it isn’t quite true…
‘We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need.’
On whether Reform UK would accept support from Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – in the future, Mr Farage replied: ‘We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need.’
And in a later tweet Mr Musk appeared to throw his support behind Rupert Lowe, the political novice Reform MP for Great Yarmouth and former chairman of Southampton Football Club.
Tories were quick to jump in to compound Mr Farage’s misery. Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty tweeted: ‘Will you be standing aside Nigel? I’ve heard Rupert (Lowe, the Reform MP) is ready to replace you.’
And Andrew Lewin, the Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield, added: ‘Ah Nigel, you should never meet your heroes.’
The owner of Tesla and X had a meeting that also included Reform treasurer Nick Candy, which Mr Farage described as ‘historic’.
On Friday Farage on Friday he distanced his party from Robinson, who is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court which began in October.
Musk has also voiced support for the German far-right party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD)
Nonetheless Mr Farage today praised the X owner and world’s richest man, 53, as his ‘American friend’ amid a row the Trump ally’s attacks on Sir Keir Starmer and senior Labour ministers.
Mr Farage used an appearance on the BBC‘s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg to say that Mr Musk was an outspoken supporter of ‘free speech’, after he branded minister Jess Phillips a ‘rape genocide apologist’ and a ‘wicked witch’.
Musk, who will have an unofficial role in the new Trump administration, also accused the PM of being ‘complicit in the rape of Britain’ in an ongoing social media spat over sexual abuse by gangs of British Asian men in northern English towns.
He has been linked with a $100million donation to Reform, but Mr Farage downplayed the likelihood of the handout being that big.
The Reform leader told the BBC: ‘He may well give us money.
‘Whether he does or not, I think what he gives us with huge numbers of young people, he makes us look cool.’
Regarding Musk’s attack on Ms Phillips, he added: ‘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.’
The party leader, 60, praised the X owner and world’s richest man, 53, as his ‘American friend’ amid a row the Trump ally’s attacks on Sir Keir Starmer and senior Labour ministers.
The Reform leader told the BBC: ‘He may well give us money. Whether he does or not, I think what he gives us with huge numbers of young people, he makes us look cool.’ Farage is pictured with the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt on Boxing Day.
He added that Musk, the South African-born US businessman, had used ‘very tough terms’ but that ‘in public life, tough things get said’.
‘This man happens to be the richest man in the world, but equally, the fact that he’s bought Twitter now actually gives us a place where we can have a proper open debate about many things… free speech is back.
‘We may find it offensive, but it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.’
Asked if he was reluctant to criticise the billionaire because of the potential donation, Mr Farage said: ‘I think I made it perfectly clear that I don’t agree with everything he stands for, but I do believe in free speech.
‘I think he’s a hero, and I said that well before any potential money was offered.’
Chris Philp, the Tory shadow home secretary, said some of Mr Musk’s comments about Ms Phillips were ‘not appropriate’ but he was right to raise the issue of grooming gangs.
‘I think some of the specific language he used about Jess Phillips is not appropriate, but raising the issue as he has done generally I think is reasonable because vulnerable young girls were let down by the system,’ he told the the BBC.
Health Secretary Mr Streeting was asked what he would say Mr Musk after his comments about Ms Phillips.
‘It is a disgraceful smear of a great woman who has spent her life supporting victims of the kind of violence that Elon Musk and others say that they’re against,’ he told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
‘And it’s all very well sitting there, and I’m not just talking about Musk – I’m talking about armchair critics on social media – it’s all very easy to sit there and fire off something in haste and click send, when people like Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips have done the hard yards of actually locking up wife beaters, rapists, paedophiles.’
He said the best response from the Government to Mr Musk was to focus on ‘tackling the problem, not talking about it’.
Mr Streeting added that if Mr Musk wants to ‘roll his sleeves up and actually do something about tackling violence against women and girls’, platforms such as X can help law enforcement to clamp down on people trying to groom children online.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has also defended the safeguarding minister, describing her as a ‘fearless and formidable’ advocate for sexual abuse victims who has ‘campaigned tirelessly’ for justice for those let down by institutional failure.
Mr Farage has long been a social media fanboy of Mr Musk
