Tesla CEO Elon Musk turned on his erstwhile ally, Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage, in a twist of his recent forays into United Kingdom politics.
Musk has increasingly involved himself in U.K. politics over the past several weeks, savaging the ruling Labour government and shining a spotlight on the mostly-Pakistani rape gang scandal. While formerly hitching his horse behind Farage, Musk suddenly turned on him on Sunday, publicly calling for his replacement as leader of the Reform U.K. party.
“The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,” Musk said.
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The turn happened after Farage distanced himself from some of Musk’s comments over the past week, with the main area of friction revolving around jailed right-wing activist Tommy Robinson and some of Musk’s language regarding Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his cabinet.
“I don’t agree with everything he stands for,” Farage told the BBC.
“The fact that he supports me politically and supports Reform doesn’t mean I have to agree with every single statement he makes on X,” he said in another interview.
“I will, at the inauguration, have a conversation with him on a variety of things – this will no doubt be one of them,” Farage added.
In a Sunday post on X, Farage adopted a conciliatory tone with Musk but reaffirmed his stance of excluding Robinson from the party.
“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,” he said.
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Musk received some pushback over his denouncement, with several major conservative figures voicing disagreement.
“I respectfully disagree,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said. “Nigel Farage is a true hero—exactly who the UK Reform Party needs. Without Farage, there is no Reform.”
Blackwater founder Erik Prince said: “On this you are wrong. Nigel Farage started the Reform party as a voice in the wilderness speaking against the insanity of the uniparty in UK. He is exactly what the UK needs.”
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Others were more harsh in their criticism.
Despite Farage distancing himself from aspects of Musk, the U.K. Reform leader described the businessman as a “hero” and praised his work on X.
Farage and Musk met at Mar-a-Lago last month, during which they discussed political strategy. In a joint statement, Farage and the party’s treasurer, Nick Candy, said they had “learnt a great deal about the Trump ground game” and would have “ongoing discussions” with Musk in other sectors.
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The meeting set off alarm bells for the Labour government, which feared further intervention from Musk. It has floated implementing laws that could neuter his influence.
Meanwhile, Musk has continued to escalate his rhetoric. On Friday, he called for King Charles III to overthrow the government, a move not made by a British monarch since King William IV in 1831.
