'Musk's Posts Criticizing UK Immigration are Double SpaceX's'

"'Musk's Posts Criticizing UK Immigration are Double SpaceX's'"

UK Guardian Analysis…Support for UK far-right party even on eve of IPO

Elon Musk's social media posts regarding UK immigration and race issues significantly outnumbered his posts about his space company, SpaceX, by more than double, the UK daily Guardian reported on the 4th (local time).

The media analyzed Musk's posts, replies, and reposts from May 31 to June 12 and found that there were 114 posts related to SpaceX, while there were 303 posts related to race and immigration, almost three-quarters of which were related to UK politics.

This period was when SpaceX was drawing public attention ahead of its listing on the 12th of last month, and immigration issues emerged in the UK due to the murder of white youth Henry Novak and riots in Northern Ireland.

The Guardian pointed out, "SpaceX allocated an unusually large number of shares to individual investors, relying on Musk's popularity," and "Musk's focus on UK political issues is even more surprising given that he is central to SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) plans and company valuation as an individual."

Even on the night before the IPO, Musk reposted a video in which Rupert Lowe, leader of the nascent far-right UK Restoration Party, argued that migrants who are not economically self-sufficient should be expelled from the UK. The UK Restoration Party is a party that broke away from the right-wing Reform UK to preach a more hardline stance, and Musk has been posting messages supporting this party since his relationship with Reform UK soured.

Musk posted more than 10 additional posts about UK immigration and politics on the same day.

When a user asked, "Why is Elon Musk, the world's richest man, spending his time on culture wars instead of enjoying himself on the beach?" Musk replied, "If civilization collapses, nothing else matters."

This pattern has become more pronounced over the past two years, since the large-scale anti-immigration protests in the UK in the summer of 2024.

In the summer of 2024, the proportion of Musk's posts related to UK race and immigration was 7%, but this year it was 48% during the Henry Novak murder incident and 26% during the Belfast incident in Northern Ireland.

There are criticisms that Musk's involvement actually affects British society.

Michael Vaughan, a researcher at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics, pointed out, "Musk has emerged as an increasingly important figure in European politics in recent years, exponentially increasing his assets," and "With Musk using encouraging or justifying words, organizations and individuals who might have remained peripheral are suddenly being given status and legitimacy."