The boss of Tesla and SpaceX recently became the largest political donor in recent American history with more than $270 million paid to Donald Trump’s campaign. According to Nigel Farage, a leading pro-Brexit figure, Musk is now turning to the other side of the Atlantic, and wants to “help” his party.
Elon Musk, November 13, 2024, in Washington DC (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / ANDREW HARNIK)
At the head of the far-right Reform UK party, British MP Nigel Farage said on Wednesday December 18 that he was in negotiations with Elon Musk about financing his political party.
Nigel Farage, emblematic figure of Brexit, met the American billionaire on Monday at Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and
“the question of money was discussed”,
writes the Briton in the
Daily Telegraph
. “There will be negotiations on this,” he added.
Elon Musk “described the Labor Party and the Conservative Party as one party, and left us in no doubt that he was behind us,” assured Nigel Farage.
The 60-year-old tribune was elected to the House of Commons in July’s parliamentary elections, which saw his anti-immigration party, Reform UK, garner more than 14% of the vote and make a remarkable entry into Parliament with five seats.
Rumors of a $100 million donation
He has taken votes from both Labor and the Tories, and is aiming for victory in the next election in 2029, even though the British electoral system is likely to favor the two main parties.
The British press recently reported on a possible donation from Musk, boss of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social network
in favor of Reform UK, citing the sum of 100 million dollars (95 million euros).
Nigel Farage told the BBC on Tuesday that they had not discussed an amount. Elon Musk “wants to help us, he is not opposed to the idea of giving us money as long as we can do it legally through British companies,” he added.
Now close to Donald Trump, Elon Musk has become the largest political donor in recent American history with more than $270 million paid during the presidential campaign to support the Republican.
Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, has appointed the billionaire to head a commission for “governmental efficiency”, a body created to cut federal budgets.
The presence of the latter at this level of power risks complicating relations between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Donald Trump, Elon Musk being a fierce critic of the Labor government.
Nigel Farage has in the past criticized US interference in British politics: in 2016, he said then US President Barack Obama had “behaved shamefully” by suggesting that the UK would be “last in line” for a trade deal with the US if he voted for Brexit.
