The tech billionaire met with the far-right party leader at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday, as his campaign against the U.K. ruling party becomes increasingly personal.
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Nigel Farage said his party was in “open negotiations” with US tech billionaire Elon Musk over a substantial donation to his party, Reform UK.
Farage told the BBC that the couple had “talked about money” during a meeting held Monday at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida resort, with Reform UK’s new treasurer, Nick Candy.
He said Tuesday that Musk left them in no doubt that he supports them “Inevitably, after such intense media speculation, the issue of money has come up, and there will be ongoing negotiations about it.”
This is the first time that Nigel Farage has confirmed that his party could receive a financial donation from the billionaire owner of Tesla and X and close supporter of Donald Trump. Previously, Farage said that although Musk was a supporter of Reform UK, he had never asked or offered to donate.
Musk has voiced his support for Farage on X, as he wages an increasingly personal battle against British Prime Minister and Labor Party leader Keir Starmer.
In August, Musk and Starmer engaged in a war of words after Musk suggested that a “civil war was inevitable” following violent riots in the UK, fueled by misleading online information and anti-immigration sentiment.
Starmer’s spokesman said his comments were “notnot justified” and added that he believes social media companies should do more to combat misinformation on their platforms.
Last month, Musk re-shared a post on X claiming that Reform UK would win the upcoming UK general election.
Farage was propelled into Parliament for the first time following the July election, with his anti-immigration Reform UK party securing more than four million votes. The party obtained 14.3% of the vote and five seats in the House of Commons.
The party is expected to secure more than 326 seats in Parliament to win the next general election.
UK electoral laws stipulate that all donations and loans to political parties worth more than £500 (€604) must come from donors registered in the UK.
Musk, who is originally from South Africa and based in the United States, could go through the British branch of X to donate to the party.
Separately, Musk’s father Errol told GB News that his son was “eligible for British citizenship”, her grandmother being from the United Kingdom. “If what’s stopping Farage from moving forward is money, then he should be given money to move forward,” Errol said.
