BBCThe world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has not been invited to a UK government international investment summit over posts he made on social media during last month’s riots, the BBC has learned.
The tech entrepreneur predicted civil war in Britain and attacked the prime minister several times in a post on X (formerly Twitter) after three children attending a dance class were killed in a stabbing in Southport and violence spread across the UK.
The October summit comes at a critical moment for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he looks to attract tens of billions of dollars in business funding from the world’s biggest investors.
Musk attended last year’s event and played a prominent role at November’s AI summit, including a fireside chat with then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak. The government and Musk have been contacted for comment.
During the August riots, Musk shared content that was later deleted, Conspiracy theories He posted on X, a social media platform he owns, news that Britain was building a “detention camp” for thugs in the Falkland Islands.
Ministers said at the time his comments were “completely unjustified” and “quite reprehensible”.
The BBC has learned that this is why he was not invited to an event on October 14th featuring hundreds of the world’s largest investors.
The budget is about to be released, and the government sees it as a major opportunity to attract foreign investment and promote the development of the UK economy. The Labour Party promised before the general election that it would hold this event within 100 days of taking power.
During the Conservative administration, Musk, who owns or runs Tesla and SpaceX, quietly toured sites across the U.K. where he might build car and battery gigafactories.
He has previously told reporters that he chose to open the site in Germany rather than the UK in part because of Brexit.
He is a regular at such summits in France. In July, he attended a three-hour high-level lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron on the eve of the Olympic Games in early summer.
While in charge of the site, formerly known as Twitter, Musk lifted a ban on far-right figures including the Britain First party.
The UK is considering stricter cybersecurity laws following the massive race riots sparked by false information in August.
Who is Elon Musk and what is his net worth?
He is the richest man in the world and uses his platform to voice his opinions on a wide range of topics.
Bloomberg estimates his net worth at about $228 billion.
That’s largely based on the value of his stake in Tesla, of which he owns more than 13%. The company’s stock has soared (some would argue unjustifiably) in 2020 as it ramped up production and began to post regular profits.
Since bursting onto the Silicon Valley scene more than two decades ago, the 53-year-old serial entrepreneur has been captivating the public with his business brilliance.
Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk showed an entrepreneurial flair early on, selling homemade chocolate Easter eggs door-to-door with his brother and developing his first computer game at age 12.
Musk, who became a U.S. citizen in 2002, has long refused to label his political views, calling himself “half Democrat, half Republican,” “politically moderate” and “independent.”
He said he voted for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and (reluctantly) Joe Biden, all Democrats.
But in recent years he has switched his support to Republican Donald Trump, and following the failed assassination attempt on Trump, Musk formally endorsed the former president for re-election in 2024.
