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WSJ, analyzes posts over 4 and a half years... 'More UK posts right before SpaceX IPO'
It has been pointed out that Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is exerting significant influence over British politics across the sea using social networking services (SNS).
The American daily Wall Street Journal (WSJ) analyzed how Musk, through posts on X (formerly Twitter) over the past four and a half years, has promoted unknown British politicians and instilled anti-immigrant far-right sentiment in local society.
In recent years, Musk has shown greater interest in British politics than in American politics.
On two occasions, the number of X posts related to British politics and culture wars exceeded 200 per month, and in June alone, 10% of all posts were about the UK.
In particular, an analysis of hundreds of X posts, retweets, and replies made by Musk from June 5-11 this year showed that posts related to British politics and culture wars were the most numerous, at 93.
Posts related to American politics and culture wars accounted for 88, SpaceX and space-related 73, and artificial intelligence (AI) and the X platform 42, which were fewer than UK-related posts.
Even though this was a time when SpaceX was facing the largest initial public offering (IPO) in its history, Musk showed more interest in British politics than in the biggest challenges of the company he leads.
Although Musk is from South Africa, he has claimed a blood relation to the UK, citing that his grandmother was from Liverpool.
He also participated virtually in a rally for far-right politician Tommy Robinson, saying, 'I have British heritage and ancestry' and 'I want Britain to be greater than ever.'
It is analyzed that Musk's idea of how Britain becomes great is by excluding immigrants.
To this end, he has not hesitated to support anti-immigrant far-right parties.
Until mid-2024, he tweeted about Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, and in 2023, after restoring the X account of politician Robinson, who had served time for assaulting police officers, using a forged passport, and mortgage fraud, he showed sympathy for the extreme views Robinson posted.
He even promoted completely unknown politicians.
Musk retweeted or mentioned posts by Rupert Lowe, who founded the nascent far-right party 'Restore Britain,' raising Lowe's almost unknown profile to a level comparable to that of leader Farage.
Musk posted, 'Only Restore Britain can save the future of the UK,' which garnered 25 million views.
It was confirmed that Lowe did not directly receive political donations from Musk but earned $150,000 (approximately 200 million KRW) through X.
He is also making incendiary remarks without hesitation.
In September last year, Musk remotely participated in the 'Unite the Kingdom' rally, urging people to resist immigration policies, saying, 'It's either fight or die.'
The British government has expressed concern about Musk's political interference as a foreigner.
It is reported that British Foreign Office officials informally contacted the U.S. State Department to protest Musk's inflammatory rhetoric.
Although British government authorities are known to have monitored Musk's posts due to national security risks, no official action has been taken.
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