Meanwhile, he also propagated pro-Musk content through his right-wing media outlets
GB News owner and hedge fund boss Paul Marshall made a huge investment in Tesla shares before the US Presidential Election last year, tripling his holdings.
DeSmog has reported that in September 2024, Marshall’s hedge fund, Marshall Wace dramatically increased its stake in Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla from 1.2 million shares in June to 3.8 million.
During this period, media outlets owned by Marshall were regularly sharing content praising Musk.
Appearing on GB News on 6 August last year, former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie said that if he needed open heart surgery, he would rather Musk perform his operation than an NHS doctor, who may be on strike.
Again on GB News on 17 December, Nigel Farage claimed Musk is “one of the most admired people in the world” and “a gigantic inspirational figure”.
On the same day, Suella Braverman described Musk as “one of the greatest innovators we’ve seen”.
The Spectator, which Marshall bought for £100 million in September 2024, also shared gushing content about Musk.
On 15 October, under the headline “Thank God for Elon Musk”, scriptwriter Gareth Roberts referred to the “the swoop and grandeur of SpaceX”, Musk’s space exploration firm, while dismissing Ed Miliband’s Great British Energy as “petty, noodling nonsense”.
Between September and December last year, Tesla share prices more than doubled, boosting the value of Marshall’s hedge fund shares by over $500 million during that period.
Tesla shares have since fallen back to around the same price as in September last year. It remains unclear whether Marshall sold some or all of his hedge fund’s shares in the company in the meantime.
After spending more than $277 million (£214 million) on Donald Trump’s campaign and becoming the head of his Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has faced a huge backlash for decimating government departments and slashing social security.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
