Elon Musk has called for Nigel Farage to be replaced as the leader of Reform UK, claiming he “doesn’t have what it takes”.
The tech multi-billionaire met with Mr Farage last month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, in Florida, and there had been speculation he could donate as much as $100 million (£78 million) to the insurgent party.
But Mr Musk and the Reform leader have disagreed in the past week on Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the English Defence League, who is currently in prison for contempt of court.
Mr Farage said last week that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was “not what we need”, after Mr Musk repeatedly praised him on X, the social media site he owns.
Writing on X on Sunday, Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
Mr Farage insisted he would remain as the leader of Reform, saying that while Mr Musk was a “remarkable individual”, Robinson was “not right” for the party.
Mr Farage wrote on X: “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.”
Mr Musk’s unexpected call for Mr Farage to be replaced as Reform’s leader comes after he repeatedly expressed his support for the political party.
It is unlikely that Mr Musk’s appetite for Mr Farage to be replaced will be shared by the Reform grassroots.
A YouGov poll conducted last June found that 94 per cent of Reform supporters had a favourable view of their leader.
The two men met at Mar-a-Lago on Dec 17.
Mr Farage has long been a friend of Mr Trump, while Mr Musk is expected to have a key role in his administration as the co-chairman of the new Department of Government Efficiency when he returns to the White House next month.
Following the meeting, Mr Farage shared a photograph of him with the tech billionaire with the caption: “Britain needs Reform.” Mr Musk replied: “Absolutely.”
In an interview with The Telegraph on Boxing Day last year, Mr Farage had said Mr Musk would play a key role in helping Reform to beat the Conservatives as well as Labour.
Addressing his popularity, Mr Farage said: “The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool – Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on, and frankly that’s only just starting.
“Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key. Of course you need voters of all ages, but if you get a wave of youth enthusiasm you can change everything.
“And I think we’re beginning to get into that zone – we were anyway, but Elon makes the whole task much, much easier. And the idea that politics can be cool, politics can be fun, politics can be real – Elon helps us with that mission enormously.”
In the past few days, Mr Musk has launched a number of highly critical online attacks against Labour ministers amid the grooming scandal.
He claimed Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, “deserves to be in prison” after she refused to support a fresh inquiry into historic child sexual exploitation in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Mr Musk also accused Sir Keir Starmer of being “complicit” in “the rape of Britain” in relation to his time in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service while abuse was taking place.
When asked about these comments, Mr Farage distanced himself from them, but also said that he would “rather live in a world where we’re free to cause offence”.
He told the BBC: “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.
“I believe in free speech even if what people say is offensive – if you find it offensive, if most people find it offensive.
“Would I rather live in a world where we’re free to cause offence rather than a world in which free speech and debate get shut down? I know which of those two I prefer.”
He said that whilst Mr Musk described himself as a “free speech absolutist”, he believed “free speech has its limits” particularly around incitement to violence.
Asked about Mr Musk’s attacks on Ms Phillips, which have included branding her a “rape genocide apologist”, he replied: “These are very, very tough terms.
“If you believe they’re inciteful then they go beyond the line. In public life, tough things get said by both sides of the debate.”
In a lengthy series of posts about British politics, Mr Musk called for the release of Robinson, who was jailed for 18 months last year.
The sentence came after he admitted committing contempt of court by repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee.
Mr Musk incorrectly suggested Robinson had been jailed because he had previously spoken out about child sexual abuse.
He shared posts on X that described Robinson as a “political prisoner” and called for his release, before separately saying: “Britain needs Reform now!”
Asked about the posts on X, Mr Farage told GB News that Mr Musk was “attacking the leadership of Britain” over the grooming gangs scandal.
“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.”
He said: “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.”
The Reform leader added: “We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election. He’s not what we need.”
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform who stepped down when Mr Farage became leader, also distanced himself from Robinson in an interview with LBC Radio on Sunday.
The remarks by Mr Musk will come as a blow to Mr Farage’s hopes of a major cash donation from the billionaire.
Following the meeting at Mar-a-Lago, the Reform leader said “ongoing negotiations” had been launched about the prospect of Mr Musk giving cash to the party.
He has since sought to dismiss the $100 million (£80.5 million) figure, telling the BBC that figure was “for the birds”. As recently as this weekend, however, Mr Farage was still pinning his hopes on a donation.
When pressed on whether Mr Musk was going to give any money, he said: “He may well do. But it’s got to be legal, he’s got to be comfortable with it. Whether he does or not, I tell you what he gives us. With huge numbers of young people, he makes us look cool.”
Reform has spent the last few months seeking to capitalise on the online popularity of its leader, who now has more than one million followers on TikTok as well as a growing presence on Instagram.
The party won more than four million votes and five seats at the general election in July after Mr Farage made a dramatic return to frontline politics to lead the party a month earlier.
Bloomberg reported last week that several prominent Brexit-backing politicians with links to Mr Trump spent last Thursday warning Republican figures against Mr Musk’s endorsement of Robinson.
The website reported it would be a step too far after Mr Musk pinned a post to his X profile which read: “Free Tommy Robinson.”
Figures on the Right who spoke to Bloomberg said they had told senior Republicans why Robinson was not more widely supported on the Right.
The 42 year-old from Luton once described Islam as a “disease” and a “threat to our way of life”. In 2021, he was found to have libelled a Syrian refugee and ordered to pay £100,000 as well as legal costs.
He was also subjected to a five-year stalking prevention order for harassing a journalist and her partner.
