UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Elon Musk’s views on Britain are out of sync with other major investors, after the world’s richest man continued his war of words with the new Labour government by saying “no one should go to the UK”.
Musk has repeatedly criticised the UK over its response to riots that broke out in British cities over the northern hemisphere summer, especially the decision to arrest people for their posts on X — the social media platform owned by Musk — that authorities said incited violence. His latest broadside came in response to a post on X saying he was not invited to a UK investment summit next month.
“What he said is in stark contrast to the very strong view around the breakfast table this morning by investors, nearly all of whom are coming to the investment summit,” Starmer told reporters after a round-table meeting with US business executives in New York on Thursday.
Musk has framed his criticism of the UK as a defence of free speech, and his latest post also referenced an early release programme for non-violent offenders designed to ease pressure on overcrowded jails. The billionaire accused the government of freeing up prison space for X users by releasing “paedophiles”.
The tone was consistent with Musk’s recent interventions over the UK riots, which were sparked by the spread of false information that a Muslim asylum seeker was responsible for an attack in which three young girls were murdered.
The Tesla CEO described arrests relating to the riots as “messed up”, and responded “yes” to a post that suggested Starmer was putting people in prison “who commit thought crimes on @X”. He also replied “true” to a post by the right-wing Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage calling the prime minister “the biggest threat to free speech we’ve seen in our history”.
‘Good investment’
Starmer, who was on a two-day visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, referred questions on the guest list for the UK’s investment summit to his office. But his team pointed out that an invitation had gone to SpaceX, another company led by Musk.
“On Tesla, obviously, I encourage investment from anywhere, and so I don’t want to be misunderstood on this,” Starmer said. “Good investment into the UK is what I’m very, very keen to promote.”
Read: Musk announces uncrewed SpaceX missions to Mars
At his round table in New York, Starmer met investors including Blackstone president Jon Gray, JPMorgan Asset Management CEO Mary Callahan Erdoes and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.
“They described this morning’s meeting with the UK as the best of the meetings they’ve had this week at UNGA,” said Starmer, who took office in July. “That’s their words, not mine, that there’s really a strong window of opportunity now with the UK, given the changes we’ve brought about.” — Alex Morales, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP
