UK is Elon Musk's new political battleground after Germany and Canada

"I really like Britain!" tweeted tech titan Elon Musk in 2012 after completing a business trip to London. Much water has flown down the Thames since then and Musk's views on the UK have undergone a change since Keir Starmer's Labour Party took charge last year. In the past few months, Musk has repeatedly got into spats with Starmer, asserting that a civil war was "inevitable" in the UK, amid speculation that he planned to donate millions to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

The UK is the latest country where Musk is aiming to call the shots, seemingly in a bid to play the kingmaker. This after spending $260 million on efforts to send Donald Trump back to the White House, predicting Justin Trudeau's ouster in Canada, and endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany.

UK and Starmer are the latest targets of Musk's political playbook. It started with Musk tweeting that the UK was on the verge of "civil war" amid massive anti-immigration protests that erupted after three girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed party.

He also weighed in on the farmers' protests, accusing the UK of going "full Stalin" over an increase in inheritance tax on farms. It was a reference to the erstwhile Soviet Union's devastating farm policies under Joseph Stalin.

While the UK's Starmer kept away from directly engaging with Musk, Trump's election win and the Tesla CEO's increasing influence in picking the Cabinet meant he could not sidestep the repeated tirades. More so when the UK is one of America's closest allies.

Thus, when Musk claimed that "very few" businesses wanted to invest in the UK under Labour, Starmer hit back by pointing to how he brought investments worth £63 billion to the UK after his win.

"Business investment in the third quarter this year is estimated to increase 4.5 per cent compared to this time last year," Starmer's spokesperson said.

Even as the US grappled with a series of attacks on New Year's Day, with at least one being investigated for terrorism, Musk continued his brazen attack on Starmer, raking up the Rotherham grooming scandal, which happened between 1997-2013.

"In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service's approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013," Musk tweeted.

Musk's post came as a 2014 report revealing the extent of the crimes, where around 1,400 children were sexually abused for over 16 years, started circulating on X. The issue gained traction as author JK Rowling and several UK MPs also tweeted about the scandal, hitting out at systemic failures.

The perpetrators were primarily of Pakistani heritage. Despite authorities being aware of such crimes, they chose not to act out of the fear of being labelled racists.

MEETING WITH NIGEL FARAGE

However, what is worrying for Starmer is Musk's rising interest in the UK's domestic political scene, with the world's richest person cosying up to hard-right firebrand lawmaker Nigel Farage.

Last month, Musk met Farage at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, with the Reform leader saying Musk was giving "serious thought" to bankrolling the party in what could be a major game changer in the 2029 elections.

GERMANY, CANADA ALSO FACE MUSK MUSIC

Musk has not just been a thorn in the flesh for Starmer. He has also gone hammer and tongs against the left-leaning German government of Olaf Scholz, calling him a "fool" after the collapse of his coalition.

Musk has also openly backed the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany ahead of a snap election in February 2025. In an op-ed, Musk asserted that the AfD was Germany's "last spark of hope".

The spree of developments has led to consternation in Europe. Germany, being the EU's largest economy, is also a political bellwether for the continent. A shift towards the far-right would have an impact on the European Union's united stand on issues like migration and defence.

Canada's Justin Trudeau also came in Musk's crosshairs after he asserted that Kamala Harris's loss in the US election was a setback for women's progress. Musk, in his own unabashed way, labelled Trudeau "an insufferable tool". "He won’t be in power for much longer," Musk predicted.