Musk rocks UK by calling for elections and confronting Starmer

Future efficiency leader in the Trump government, Elon Musk calls for the release of right-wing radical and intensifies criticism of the British government

Tesla CEO Elon Musk called for new elections in the UK, in yet another sign of how Donald Trump’s future government in the US could complicate Keir Starmer’s administration.

Musk, a close and vocal aide to Trump who will take office on January 20, has made a series of posts on the X platform (formerly Twitter), which he owns, questioning Starmer’s record as UK Director of Public Prosecutions before entering politics. He also called for the release of far-right firebrand Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) and claimed that “only” Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party can “save” Britain.

Responding to a post about a new poll showing a collapse in support for Starmer’s Labor government — which won a landslide victory in the July 4 general election — Musk called for a new vote. However, the prime minister, who has a huge parliamentary majority, is not obliged to call new elections for another 4 and a half years.

Musk’s series of social media posts is the latest in a string of attacks on the British government. With Trump planning to give Musk a major role in his administration to lead a government efficiency department, the billionaire’s repeated attacks on a key US ally threaten to complicate the so-called “special relationship” between the UK and US.

It’s not just Starmer who is in Musk’s crosshairs: he has also repeatedly criticized the left-wing German government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, supporting the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party ahead of a snap election scheduled for February.

The British Prime Minister has repeatedly stated that the relationship between the two countries is greater than the individuals who lead them. In September, Trump hosted Starmer for a two-hour dinner at his New York City building — before securing his second presidential term — and told reporters he found Starmer “very nice.” However, Trump’s legal team used a filing with the Federal Election Commission to accuse the Labor Party of “blatant foreign interference” and illegal contributions to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ campaign.

Musk’s animosity began in the summer, with criticism over Starmer’s handling of a wave of riots sparked by anti-immigration sentiments after the murders of three girls were falsely blamed on an asylum seeker. Musk has also repeatedly clashed with the British government over free speech and economic growth, as well as publicly supporting Farage and Robinson.

Robinson was arrested late last year after admitting contempt of court for repeating false accusations against a Syrian refugee. Several of Musk’s posts, including one pinned to the top of his profile, call for Robinson’s release. In another post, he stated that the US should exert “economic and diplomatic pressure” to resolve the issue, to which Musk responded with a “100” emoji as an endorsement.

Musk’s posts came as his company dealt with the fallout from the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas. The billionaire also made several posts about the incident, saying that “the entire senior team at Tesla is investigating this now” and later stated that the explosion was “unrelated to the vehicle itself” and was caused by “very large fireworks and/or a bomb.”

So far, Starmer and his government have downplayed Musk’s attacks and the threat posed by the Reform party. With a large parliamentary majority, there is currently no prospect of Starmer losing a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons, which would be necessary to call new elections before the desired deadline. The next general election in the United Kingdom is scheduled for 2029.

Starmer spoke by phone with Trump last month as the British prime minister tries to solidify the UK-US relationship despite differing political priorities and histories. They discussed continued support for Ukraine — which could be called into question under the new Trump administration — and efforts to ensure peace in the Middle East.

With information from Bloomberg*