For British politicians, the question of the moment is how do you handle Elon Musk?

The billionaire owner of X and Tesla, soon to take up a role as efficiency tsar in the Trump administration, has been throwing grenades almost every hour about British politics on his social media platform and dominating the headlines.

Much of it is inflammatory claims about Keir Starmer and his government – despite their efforts to build good relations with Donald Trump.

And until today, enthusiastic backing for Nigel Farage, who only in mid-December met Musk in the glitzy surroundings of Mar-a-Lago to talk money, amid reports he was considering a $100m donation to Reform.

Then bam! – after Farage repeatedly hailed Musk as a “hero” who made Reform “look cool” and was looking forward to a chat at Trump’s inauguration – the tables have turned rather dramatically.

Musk tweeted that Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the party and that Reform needs a new leader.

His change of heart comes after Musk has spent days intensively tweeting about grooming gangs in the UK, and his support for jailed far right activist Tommy Robinson, who has seized on this issue.

Farage, who has tried to distance himself from Robinson for most of his career, thinks this is the reason for the fall out, responding that he was surprised but added: “My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”

Last week, Musk posted a series of tweets calling for Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – to be released from prison, where he is serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court for repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee.

Read more:
Reform deputy praises ‘popular’ Musk – as Labour criticises grooming gangs intervention
Elon Musk must be a busy man – so why is he so interested in UK politics?
Badenoch ‘unlikely to apologise over fake Reform membership claim’

What does this spat mean for Reform?

In the short-term, Reform would hardly have wanted an unexpected falling out just as they are trumpeting rising membership figures and Farage is poised to meet him in Washington.

But Farage sees Robinson as toxic for his brand, and a distraction from his mission of building a campaign machine to fight the next UK general election – even if he loses powerful friends.

The prospect of a donation from Musk – who has donated huge sums to Donald Trump’s campaign, would have been an enticing one, but there were already significant legal questions around it, under UK election rules.

Farage’s friendship with Trump, going back to his first term as president, also does not seem to have been affected, so a hotline to the White House is still possible.

What does it mean for Starmer and Labour?

It’s unclear what Trump thinks about Musk’s recent obsession with British politics altogether – as he rails against Keir Starmer and other US allies hour by hour, and whether this online trolling will be tolerated after he takes up his job in the White House.

This is a question that Labour officials are eagerly awaiting the answer to, although there may be some relief that the criticism is now being turned on Farage.

Musk has – in the last day or two alone – made a series of incendiary and unfounded accusations against Starmer, claiming he was “complicit in the rape of Britain”, that he is “guilty of terrible crimes” and questioning whether he, as director of public prosecutions, “allowed rape gangs to exploit young girls without facing justice?”

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, doing interviews today, said Musk’s criticism was “completely ill-judged and ill-founded” and that Starmer had done a huge amount to support victims and achieve prosecutions in grooming cases. But largely, the government are trying to ignore the noise.

Kemi Badenoch was accused of dancing to Musk’s tune by calling for a national inquiry into grooming gangs – the Conservatives having rejected one when in government just two years ago.

An unelected US-based billionaire is now setting a cat among the pigeons for all parties in Britain – and throwing issues into the limelight which none will find easy to ignore.

Elon Musk has said Reform UK needs a “new leader” because Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes”.

The X owner posted the tweet on Sunday following days of headlines over his comments about the historic grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities more than a decade ago.

Mr Musk, who has spoken positively about Reform UK on his social media platform and who met Mr Farage at the end of last year, has been highly critical of the government’s response and has argued the cases of child sex abuse were “covered up”.

His comments about Mr Farage will be embarrassing for Reform, who have been courting the billionaire and soon-to-be efficiency tsar of the incoming president-elect Donald Trump.

As recently as this morning, deputy leader Richard Tice claimed Mr Musk was “popular” with the British public and was “one of the greatest entrepreneurs in history”, while Mr Farage described him as an “absolute hero figure”.

Mr Musk has increasingly taken an interest in UK politics and more recently the grooming scandal that saw young girls targeted by has singled out Sir Keir Starmer and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips for criticism, arguing that the prime minister failed to bring “rape gangs” to justice while he led the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

And he said the “real reason” why Ms Phillips had rejected requests from Oldham Council for a government-led review into cases of child sexual exploitation in Oldham was because investigating it “would obviously lead to the blaming of Keir Stamer (head of the CPS at the time).”

Despite Mr Farage and the Conservatives both agreeing with Mr Musk’s calls for a national inquiry into the grooming gang scandal, a divide has emerged over the the tech tycoon’s support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

Mr Musk has endorsed the far-right activist and claimed Robinson was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.

Yesterday at a Reform party conference, Mr Farage distanced himself from Robinson, saying the jailed activist was “not what we need”.

Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – admitted at Woolwich Crown Court in October to breaching an injunction banning him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy, after he was successfully sued for libel in 2021.

In 2018 Mr Farage quit UKIP, the party he used to lead, over its “fixation” with Islam and the decision of Gerard Batten, then its leader, to hire Robinson as an adviser.

Asked about Mr Musk’s support for Robinson, Mr Farage told GB News: “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.”

Mr Farage was also asked whether he had spoken to the tech billionaire in recent days, to which he replied: “I haven’t spoken to him for some time, or a few days.

“He’s tweeting about everything. He’s tweeting about farming. He’s tweeting about Keir Starmer’s competence. He’s tweeting about Tommy Robinson. He’s tweeting about me. Reform UK.

“He has a whole range of opinions, some of which I agree with very strongly and others of which I’m more reticent about.”

Asked whether Mr Musk’s support for Robinson was “problematic” and potentially damaging for Reform, Mr Farage replied: “Having him as a supporter is very helpful to our cause.

“I mean, goodness me, I mean, he’s an absolute hero figure, particularly for young people in this country.

“Now everyone says, ‘Well, what about his comments on Tommy Robinson? But 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.”