Tesla boss and close ally of Donald Trump, who is at the centre of rumours he could donate to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, hits out at prime minister
Kate Devlin
Whitehall Editor
Monday 30 December 2024
Independent UK
Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at Elon Musk’s claim that “very few” businesses want to invest in Britain under Labour – pointing to billions of pounds worth of money that have come into the UK since he became prime minister.
No 10 also said the government would continue to take an “unashamedly pro-growth and pro-business approach”.
The tycoon and close ally of Donald Trump claimed on his platform X, formerly Twitter, that the “current administration” was responsible for stopping cash coming into the UK.
He was responding to a call from a Scottish politician asking Tesla, his car company, to open a gigafactory in the country.
In response, Downing Street said: “If you look at what’s happened since the election, you’ve seen £63bn of traditional investment” from an investment summit the PM held in October.
Sir Keir’s official spokesperson added: “Business investment in the third quarter this year is estimated to increase 4.5 per cent compared to this time last year. I think you’ve seen reports out today suggesting that the vast majority of UK businesses expect their turnover to increase next year, up on last year.”
They added that “the government is taking an unashamedly pro-growth and pro-business approach.”
Sir Keir had clashed with Mr Musk in August after the billionaire entrepreneur claimed in a post on X that “civil war” was "inevitable" in Britain.
Mr Musk also hit out at the prime minister, calling him #twotierkeir, using the language of a right-wing conspiracy theory, which claims different types of protesters are treated differently by the police.
Nigel Farage met Mr Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion recently, amid rumours the tech billionaire is preparing to donate up to $100m to Reform UK.
The money would be by far the largest donation in British electoral history.
According to The Sunday Times, leading businessmen and Conservative Party officials believe that Mr Musk could hand over the cash as a “f*** you Starmer” payment as part of his feud with the prime minister.
The “first buddy” of Mr Trump even shared a post on X, claiming that Reform UK will win the next general election, captioning his repost with the word “Yes”.
Asked by ITV about the reports of the massive donation, Mr Musk denied he was planning to give $100m, but his response did not rule out another amount.
Asked if he was planning to give the upstart party £80m, Mr Musk – who has been appointed by Mr Trump to lead a new government efficiency commission in the US – replied “No”.
Mr Farage has previously described Mr Musk as “very supportive”.
“He thinks that if Reform do well in the UK, we can bring about the same kind of change that he intends to do with Donald Trump in America,” the party leader said.
Mr Musk also hit out at the prime minister, calling him #twotierkeir, using the language of a right-wing conspiracy theory, which claims different types of protesters are treated differently by the police.
Nigel Farage met Mr Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion recently, amid rumours the tech billionaire is preparing to donate up to $100m to Reform UK.
The money would be by far the largest donation in British electoral history.
According to The Sunday Times, leading businessmen and Conservative Party officials believe that Mr Musk could hand over the cash as a “f*** you Starmer” payment as part of his feud with the prime minister.
The “first buddy” of Mr Trump even shared a post on X, claiming that Reform UK will win the next general election, captioning his repost with the word “Yes”.
Asked by ITV about the reports of the massive donation, Mr Musk denied he was planning to give $100m, but his response did not rule out another amount.
Asked if he was planning to give the upstart party £80m, Mr Musk – who has been appointed by Mr Trump to lead a new government efficiency commission in the US – replied “No”.
Mr Farage has previously described Mr Musk as “very supportive”.
“He thinks that if Reform do well in the UK, we can bring about the same kind of change that he intends to do with Donald Trump in America,” the party leader said.
Elon Musk takes another swipe at Starmer as he rejects Tesla plant in UK calls
Elon Musk, fresh from voicing his support for a far-right political party in Germany, claimed 'very few companies' will want to invest in the UK amid calls to set up a Tesla gigafactory in Scotland
Elon Musk is at it again
By Dave Burke
Elon Musk, fresh from voicing his support for a far-right political party in Germany, claimed 'very few companies' will want to invest in the UK amid calls to set up a Tesla gigafactory in Scotland
Elon Musk is at it again
By Dave Burke
Political Correspondent
DAILY MAIL
30 Dec 2024
Petty Elon Musk has ruled out a new Tesla plant in the UK with another dig at Keir Starmer.
The billionaire tech boss, who earlier this week threw his weight behind Germany's far-right AfD party, claimed that "very few companies" will want to invest in the UK while Mr Starmer is PM. Musk is set to hold a key role in the Donald Trump administration when the Republican returns to the White House.
Petty Elon Musk has ruled out a new Tesla plant in the UK with another dig at Keir Starmer.
The billionaire tech boss, who earlier this week threw his weight behind Germany's far-right AfD party, claimed that "very few companies" will want to invest in the UK while Mr Starmer is PM. Musk is set to hold a key role in the Donald Trump administration when the Republican returns to the White House.
Earlier this week Musk penned a piece in German newspaper Welt am Sonntag newspaper voicing his support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The anti-immigration AfD, which has called for mass deportations, has been classified as a suspected extremism case by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
Responding to Musk's latest outburst, a No10 spokesman said the Government has taken an "unashamedly pro-growth and pro-business approach". The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We look forward to working with President-elect Trump and indeed his team to progress the UK-US special relationship, and particularly the UK-US trade and investment relationship, which supports hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs both sides of the Atlantic, and tens of billion pounds of investment and trade."
He added: "I'm not going to kind of get into commentary on individual comments, but if you look at what's happened since the election, you've seen the £63 billion of additional investment from the Investment Summit. You've seen the Government respond to some of the businesses' key concerns in the UK, which is lack of stability, and the Government's brought back that stability, both politically and economically."
Responding to Musk's latest outburst, a No10 spokesman said the Government has taken an "unashamedly pro-growth and pro-business approach". The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We look forward to working with President-elect Trump and indeed his team to progress the UK-US special relationship, and particularly the UK-US trade and investment relationship, which supports hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs both sides of the Atlantic, and tens of billion pounds of investment and trade."
He added: "I'm not going to kind of get into commentary on individual comments, but if you look at what's happened since the election, you've seen the £63 billion of additional investment from the Investment Summit. You've seen the Government respond to some of the businesses' key concerns in the UK, which is lack of stability, and the Government's brought back that stability, both politically and economically."
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