Elon Musk’s Foray Into UK Politics Holds a Warning for the US

With an estimated fortune of nearly $428 billion, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is rapidly repositioning himself as political pundit-in-chief.

At first glance, Musk’s affinity for meddling in political affairs seems like a hobby. He has inserted himself in politics in Europe, having previously endorsed the far right Alternative für Deutschland party before February’s elections.

But in the U.K., Musk seems to be eyeing a more dominant role — one that seeks to oust the center left-leaning prime minister, and insert a more radical, right-wing replacement. Beyond sporadic social media posts demanding the release of a far right activist currently in prison, Musk has continually escalated his interventions in recent months. “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government” he posted in a poll to his 212 million followers on X on January 6. Fifty-eight percent of respondents agreed with his statement. Since 2025 began, Musk has posted about the U.K. almost daily — sometimes, analysis from the Financial Times indicates, dozens of times a day.

Musk’s question is merely one in a series of attacks leveled at Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other senior politicians in Britain. Even loyal allies — including hard right politician Nigel Farage, who has previously described Musk as his “hero” — haven’t been spared. Writing on X, Musk claimed Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead Reform UK, a right-wing populist political party that claimed 14 percent of the vote in 2024’s election. And Musk’s backing comes with capital, with some reports indicating Musk has considered donating $100 million to the party. Farage is already a beneficiary of Musk’s policies: He’s one of three Reform MPs who earn thousands of pounds through his posts on X, which often include hateful rhetoric, via the company’s “creator revenue” program.

On January 7, Musk accused Jess Phillips, the current U.K. minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, who has been a long-standing campaigner against gender-based violence, of being a “rape genocide apologist.” Starmer, Musk claimed, was “deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes.”

These remarks have brought the so-called “grooming gangs scandal” back into the political spotlight. The scandal refers to organized networks of men who are allegedly responsible for long-running sexual exploitation and abuse of vulnerable girls and women in the U.K., and the far right has saturated the narrative with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments.

In a review into grooming gangs in Rotherham, a professor concluded that the majority of “known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage.” Similarly, an independent inquiry into abuse in Telford, found that the men convicted were of “Southern Asian heritage.” Some ministers have aggressively publicized these studies, while some other reports — including the convictions of a group of white men and women for abusing 30 children in the town of Cornwall in 2010 — have been deliberately overlooked. It should go without saying that exploitation and abuse aren’t confined to any one racial or ethnic group, but the racist narratives surrounding the abuse in Oldham have been so intense that the National Police Chiefs’ Council found it necessary to specifically clarify to the public that in 2024, the vast majority of group-based child abuse cases in the U.K. (85 percent) were committed by white people, not Pakistani people, in keeping with the U.K.’s white-dominated demographics.

Musk’s accusation came soon after Phillips declined to order a national inquiry into “grooming gangs” in the town of Oldham. Phillips claims that investigations on this subject are in the remit of the local council, pointing to previous local, independent inquiries covering towns including Telford, Rochdale and Rotherham. Musk, on the other hand, claims she “should be in prison.” After Musk’s badgering, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper signaled a shift in the national government’s position on January 16, announcing five government-backed local inquiries and a nationwide review of grooming gang evidence, including key demographics.

Advocates of Musk’s approach argue his messages tap into underlying frustrations the British public has with the state of the country and its leadership. Evidence, however, suggests otherwise. According to polling from Opinium, the majority of Britons — 53 percent — believe Musk is having a negative effect on British politics.

But Musk’s role in shaping the political debate in Britain is already palpable — instead of discussing the flailing National Health Service, Starmer found himself called upon to deny Musk’s allegations that he concealed child abuse and exploitation and didn’t take sufficient action when he led the Crown Prosecution Service, the independent body prosecuting criminal cases in England and Wales, between 2008 and 2013, when the scandal emerged.

Musk’s interference in British politics is spreading dangerous misinformation. The picture of the scandal has been simplified to suit Musk’s narrative. In reality, while the Crown Prosecution Service was criticized for deeming a victim of abuse “unreliable,” the decision not to proceed with prosecution was overturned under Starmer’s leadership. A government-commissioned inquiry into the grooming scandal took place in 2014, with an additional review taking place in 2022. The inquiry — which found that authorities’ response was characterised by delays and that some choices were shaped by a fear of being perceived as racist — led to some resignations and apologies. Now, the Labour Party argues the focus should be on acting on the review’s recommendations.

What lies beneath the surface of this right-wing rhetoric, then, is more a desire to use victims’ suffering for political point-scoring than it is a genuine interest in tackling gender-based violence.

Musk’s interest in British politics is notably narrow — he has taken intense interest only in sexual abuse cases where perpetrators were of Asian descent. Meanwhile, he enabled a proliferation of rumors grounded in anti-immigrant sentiment on X about the identity of the murderer of three young girls at a dance class in Southport which sparked national riots, but notably failed to condemn the far right violence that followed. And, perhaps most significantly, he has pretended to champion women’s rights while supporting — and soon working under — Donald Trump, who was found liable for sexual assault in 2023.

On one level, Musk’s involvement in U.K. politics appears motivated by his vendetta against the Labour Party itself, which he has harbored at least since the party came to power in 2024. In the early weeks of Starmer’s premiership, Musk dashed Labour’s hopes of attracting business investment, claiming that “very few” companies will be willing to invest in the U.K. with the current administration. With his frequent proclamations of frustration with the current government, Musk is animating the public against Labour — and leaving the door open for the installation of a more extreme, right-wing leader, like Farage, who could be seen as a counterpart to Musk’s ally in Trump.

But on a larger scale, Musk’s intervention in U.K. politics reflects his broader orientation toward global politics: stoking far right extremist outsiders and seeking to strengthen their hand against more moderate politicians. Among both more established and emerging far right leaders, Musk has positioned himself as a critical ally. Even after being accused by the German government of meddling in the upcoming elections, Musk is set to host an X Spaces discussion with Alice Weidel, the leader of far right party Alternative für Deutschland. Supporting populist, anti-immigrant politicians beyond elections is central to Musk’s persona too, as he’s spent time cozying up to other right-wing leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentinian President Javier Milei.

Whether Musk will wade into British politics while he is part of Trump’s administration remains to be seen. But his focus will certainly remain international, not just domestic — the billionaire is already reported to have allegedly held private talks with allies on ousting Starmer before the next election. And after describing civil war in Britain as “inevitable,” it’s too easy to forget that Musk himself is part of a bigger problem. After all, a lust for power that isn’t easily satisfied serves as a prescient warning to the U.S. as to what Musk may have in store.