Musk wades into politics on both sides of the Atlantic
Does having more money than anyone else mean that you can pontificate on anything and everything (even if you know little about it) and attempt to push around sovereign governments?
Seems to if you’re X, SpaceX and Tesla owner Elon Musk who is now demanding that the UK’s Nigel Farage steps down as leader of the Reform party (basically his invention), possibly in favour of imprisoned right wing activist Tommy Robinson. Essentially he thinks Robinson has been jailed for his comments about the investigation into mostly Pakistani gangs abusing young girls in the north west of England, which Musk (among others) regards as a cover-up by local politicians and police fearful of upsetting the Muslim community. Sir Keir Starmer was director of public prosecutions (DPP) for much of the time.
Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth?
He should be freed and those who covered up this travesty should take his place in that cell. https://t.co/Dn48JLoJgR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 1, 2025
Farage, who’s acquiring a politician’s smooth gloss at a rapid rate, has responded thus (on X of course.)
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. https://t.co/V7iccN6usS
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) January 5, 2025
Now Musk, who seems to be running the US government in tandem with president-elect Donald Trump already, may have a point about the gangs (Robinson was jailed for defying a court injunction) but is it the proper use of media owner power to tell other people in other countries what to do because you own a platform? Musk supporters might argue that the likes of News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch have been dong this for decades through a network of newspapers and broadcasters that faithfully reflect their views but Musk has taken it to another level.
It’s a poser for internet advertisers too. Do they really want to support Musk’s ‘bully pulpit’ for the world? He’s already taken them on once and won.
