Is Elon Musk taking his political meddling international?
Tech billionaire Elon Musk met with British political disruptor Nigel Farage on Monday amid rumors that Musk may donate money to Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform U.K. party.
The rendezvous happened at the Mar-a-Lago estate of President-elect Donald Trump, whom Musk spent over a quarter of a million dollars to help elect this year. Reform U.K. has emerged as a threat recently to the Labour government and the leading opposition party, the Conservatives.
Farage left the meeting seemingly optimistic that Musk would chip in for the cause. He told BBC on Tuesday that Reform is in “open negotiations” with Musk and admitted that the two “did talk about money” while in Florida.
“He wants to help us, he’s not opposed to the idea of giving us money, provided we can do it legally through UK companies,” Farage told the outlet.
As an American citizen, Musk cannot make personal political donations in the U.K., but private companies that operate in the country can. That means donations could potentially be made via the British branches of X (formerly Twitter) or Tesla.
Musk has so far denied that he will bankroll Reform U.K., saying only that he supports it to form the next government. But if he truly plans on stiffing Farage, you certainly couldn’t tell from his social media presence.
On Tuesday afternoon, Farage uploaded a photograph of him and Nick Candy, the Reform U.K. treasurer, meeting Musk.
“Britain needs Reform,” Farage’s post read. To which Musk replied, “Absolutely.”
U.K. media has speculated for weeks now that Reform U.K. was in discussions with Musk for a massive financial donation, similar to the amount of money the billionaire gave to Trump in 2024. But it seems like these plans haven’t yet crystallized. Farage said that he didn’t ask for a donation during their meeting this week, and that none had been offered to him.
Still, it’s easy to see why guys like Farage and Musk get along. Musk will soon lead a planned advisory commission called the Department of Government Efficiency, working in tandem with Trump once he is inaugurated in January, while Farage himself is a longtime supporter of Trump.
And similar to Trump, Farage, who drove the Brexit cause, leads a party featuring candidates who have made many inflammatory remarks. One Reform U.K. candidate, for instance, said that Britain should’ve remained neutral in the fight against the Nazis during World War II. Another candidate similarly came under fire for using antisemitic tropes.
Beyond that, Musk, Farage, and Trump all have an axe to grind with the new U.K. government and its leadership. Musk and Trump are both prominent critics of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party. And Musk once said on social media that Reform could win the next British election, according to the Independent.
In the U.K.’s July general election, Farage’s party won five seats in Parliament and captured 14% of the national vote, suggesting that Reform could pose a major threat to the country’s two major political parties. In recent weeks, too, Reform’s poll ratings have ticked up as Starmer’s government has faced a rough start.
After this week’s gathering, Farage and Candy gushed in a statement that they had a “great meeting” with Musk, saying, “We learned a great deal about the Trump ground game and will have ongoing discussions on other areas.”
In addition to thanking Trump for letting them meet at his Florida estate, the pair added: “We only have one more chance left to save the West and we can do great things together.”
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