While Elon Musk prepares for SpaceX’s initial public offering this week — poised to be the biggest ever — he’s also been keeping up a politically-charged side hustle: fomenting far-right protests in the UK.
Britain has suffered several outbreaks of violence · and disorder in recent days, following the murder of an 18-year-old by a British-born Sikh and later a stabbing in Belfast where a Sudanese man was arrested at the scene.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has long posted anti-immigrant rhetoric and conspiracy theories on his social media platform X. Following the stabbings, he has repeatedly amplified calls from far-right politicians and activists for protests, turning his feed into a jarring mix of posts promoting the SpaceX IPO, graphic images depicting violence and calls for mass deportations.
Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!! https://t.co/73GDcLLFwv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2026
“Only Restore Britain can save Britain,” Musk posted on Tuesday, referring to a fringe far-right political party led by its sole Member of Parliament, Rupert Lowe. Restore advocates removing millions of migrants from the UK. Musk’s post was viewed almost 40 million times, according to public statistics on X.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other lawmakers have accused Musk of interfering in British politics and stoking division.
“We see extremists exploiting people’s anger and grief to spread hatred and violence – with the help of divisive algorithms on social media,” said Ed Davey, who heads the opposition Liberal Democrat party on Wednesday.
Musk courts right-wing politicians on his platform, and the service typically highlights right-leaning content . Restore’s Lowe and other niche figures, such as political agitator Tommy Robinson, are highly visible on the platform and often reposted by Musk.
One unintended consequence of the SpaceX owner’s support of the far-right may be that it pushes the UK government further left.
The rise of Restore, whose leader has earned about £70,000 from posting on X this year, threatens to take votes away from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the imminent contest for the seat of Makerfield on June 18, potentially easing a path to victory for Labour’s Andy Burnham.
Burnham, who supports taking more of the economy into public control and who has indicated an openness to higher taxes, is widely expected to challenge Starmer for the premiership if he wins in Makerfield.
Read More: A New Musk-Endorsed UK Party Is Competing for Farage’s Voters
Musk has frequently clashed with Starmer since the Labour government came to power in 2024, accusing the prime minister of overseeing “two-tier policing,” a reference to the right-wing theory that police deal more harshly with white people than other ethnic groups. Musk’s criticism was echoed last week in a highly unusual letter by the US State Department.
Starmer has struck a balance between criticizing Musk and maintaining diplomatic ties with President Donald Trump, who is opposed to tougher overseas regulation of US tech firms.
Read More: Starmer Says Musk Is Sowing UK Division After Teen’s Murder
Communications regulator Ofcom said it had contacted platforms to warn them of the risk of users stirring up hate or violence online, which is illegal under the UK’s Online Safety Act.
“We are already contacting individual providers where we believe there are specific risks around the presence of illegal content relating to the civil unrest,” said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s group director for online safety, in a letter made public on Wednesday.
The regulator can fine or restrict services for breaches of the law, though investigations into platforms can often drag out for months.
A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked about the role of Musk and X in the unrest, Starmer said: “We will crack down on anyone who is fueling this division.”
Northern Ireland MP Claire Hanna, who represents part of Belfast in the House of Commons, hit out at those fomenting unrest using online platforms. “For all the online agitators who stoke this stuff up when they move on to their next target, we’ll be the ones left to pick up the pieces,” she told Parliament.