Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and tech billionaire, has reiterated his claims that the U.K. is on the brink of “civil war” following more than a week of right-wing riots. However, this view is largely dismissed in Great Britain.
Musk, owner of X and known for his online disputes and sharing far-right content, made these comments in response to a video purportedly showing clashes between rioters and British police after days of far-right violence in various towns and cities.
Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, described Musk’s comments as “completely and utterly ridiculous” in an email to NBC News on Tuesday. He added, “No one who has even a passing familiarity with the country would embarrass themselves by making such an absurd prediction.”
The unrest began after three young girls were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England. False rumors that the suspect was a Muslim asylum-seeker sparked mobs to attack hotels housing asylum-seekers and mosques, resulting in hundreds of arrests. The suspect, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, was born in Cardiff and lived near Southport, according to police.
UK’s Prime Minister responds
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office swiftly condemned Musk’s remarks, stating they had “no justification.” In a video message posted to X, Starmer said: “Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest. It is pure violence and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities, so the full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part in these activities.”
Musk was unswayed, responding: “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on all communities?” and directly tagging Starmer in a subsequent post, asking: “Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain?”
In recent years, Musk has shifted towards conservative politics and has been vocal against policies supporting the transgender community, despite having a transgender daughter. Recently, he announced plans to relocate his businesses from California to protest a new state law preventing schools from outing trans kids to their parents.
The U.K. riots represent one of the first major challenges for Starmer, whose center-left Labour Party recently came to power in a landslide election victory, ending the Conservative Party’s 14-year tenure in government.
