'He's not got what it takes': Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage as he claims Reform UK should replace him
5 January 2025, 14:14 | Updated: 6 January 2025, 08:50
Elon Musk has slammed Nigel Farage, claiming he "doesn't have what it takes" to lead Reform UK.
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The X billionaire called for Reform to find a new leader in a post on his social media platform.
It comes after Farage rejected Musk's calls for Reform UK to join forces with Tommy Robinson.
Farage distanced himself from Elon Musk’s stance on jailed far-right figure Tommy Robinson after the tech billionaire called for him to be released from prison.
"The Reform Party needs a new leader," Musk said in a shock X post.
The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2025
"Farage doesn’t have what it takes."
Musk, the billionaire ally of Donald Trump who is considering donating around £100 million to Mr Farage’s Reform UK party, pinned a message at the top of his X feed which read “Free Tommy Robinson!” earlier this week.
Until now, it seemed Musk and Farage had a strong relationship, with the Reform boss even visiting the billionaire in the United States.
The Reform UK leader said at a conference in Leicester on Friday that Musk had "a whole range of opinions, some of which I agree with very strongly, and others of which I am more reticent about".
Mr Farage may have been keen to put a driving wedge between himself and Robinson, but he still expressed his admiration for Musk, calling him a "remarkable new entrant" into American politics who is "very helpful" for Reform.
Mr Farage said that the X CEO is a "hero" for buying the social media platform, adding that "at least with Elon, we've got free speech back."
"Whether we like everything he says or not, he is a hero," Mr Farage added.
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He continued: "Everyone says, well, what about his comments on Tommy Robinson? Look, my position is perfectly clear on that. I never wanted Tommy Robinson to join UKIP, I don't want him to join Reform UK, and he won't be."
Musk’s controversial post about Tommy Robinson and his indication he will donate to Reform are not his only interventions in British politics that have sparked backlash in recent weeks.
The world’s richest man posted several times about grooming gangs in Rochdale and Oldham, attacking prime minister Keir Starmer and the Labour MP and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips over their responses to the scandal.
The US billionaire wrote in one post that Ms Phillips even "deserves to be in prison" over her failure to launch an inquiry, arguing that "rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice".
