Elon Musk falls out with Nigel Farage: "He doesn't have what it takes" | LBC

Nigel Farage has hit back at Elon Musk, after the tech billionaire said he "doesn't have what it takes" to lead Reform UK.

Farage has hit back at Musk after the Twitter owner said Farage should be removed as the leader of Reform UK in a surprise move.

Musk's remarks came after Farage rejected his calls for Reform UK to join forces with far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Farage distanced himself from Elon Musk’s stance on jailed far-right figure and convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson, after the tech billionaire called for him to be released from prison.

"The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes." Musk said in a shock tweet.

Nigel Farage reacted on the social media platform saying: "Well, this is a surprise!"

"Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree," the Reform leader continued.

"My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles."

Musk, the billionaire ally of Donald Trump who is considering donating around £100 million to Mr Farage’s Reform UK party, pinned a message at the top of his Twitter feed which read “Free Tommy Robinson!” earlier this week.

Until now, it seemed Musk and Farage had a strong relationship, with the Reform boss even visiting the billionaire in the United States.

The Reform UK leader said at a conference in Leicester on Friday that Musk had "a whole range of opinions, some of which I agree with very strongly, and others of which I am more reticent about".

Mr Farage may have been keen to put a driving wedge between himself and Robinson, but he still expressed his admiration for Musk, calling him a "remarkable new entrant" into American politics who is "very helpful" for Reform.

Mr Farage said that the Twitter CEO is a "hero" for buying the social media platform, adding that "at least with Elon, we've got free speech back."

"Whether we like everything he says or not, he is a hero," Mr Farage added.

He continued: "Everyone says, well, what about his comments on Tommy Robinson? Look, 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."

Musk’s controversial post about Tommy Robinson and his indication he will donate to Reform are not his only interventions in British politics that have sparked backlash in recent weeks.

The world’s richest man posted several times about grooming gangs in Rochdale and Oldham, attacking prime minister Keir Starmer and the Labour MP and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips over their responses to the scandal.

The US billionaire wrote in one post that Ms Phillips even "deserves to be in prison" over her failure to launch an inquiry, arguing that "rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice".

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