“Can you imagine a British businessman appearing at a rally in Washington, safely 3,000 miles away by video and telling Americans “fight or die”?”
Speaking remotely at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march last weekend, organised by ex-convict and far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, Elon Musk delivered a tirade that was quickly condemned and ridiculed.
He called for a “dissolution of Parliament,” warned of incoming “violence,” and told the crowd: “You either fight back or you die.”
The owner of X used the opportunity to rail against what he has repeatedly labelled the “woke mind virus.” He blamed “massive uncontrolled migration” for the “destruction of Britain” and claimed “the left are the party of murder,” referencing the killing of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Musk also painted progressive politics as discriminatory:
“A lot of the woke stuff is actually super-racist, it’s super-sexist and often it’s anti-religion, but only anti-Christian, like why anti-Christian? That’s unfair … that should be all that matters, the woke mind virus, that I call it, is against all that.”
Musk’s speech followed an address by Ben Habib, former Reform deputy and now leader of Advance UK, a newly formed far-right party that Tommy Robinson has joined. Slamming Reform as too moderate and accusing Nigel Farage of wanting to “make peace with Islam,” Robinson praised Habib as “loyal and principled.”
“He’s stood up for free speech. He’s stood up for me at times,” he said.
The rally itself drew an estimated 110,000 supporters, while around 5,000 counter-protesters gathered from anti-racism groups.
At the end of the event, Robinson praised Musk, saying:
“Not only are we in the fight right now, but we’re on the advance thanks to free speech being fought for, for us, by Elon Musk.”
British political leaders reacted quickly. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey posted: “Our democracy is too precious to be a plaything for foreign tech barons. Elon Musk doesn’t care about the British people or our rights. He only cares about himself and his ego.”
Critics online were even harsher, accusing Musk of inflaming fascist sentiment and using his wealth to amplify extremist voices under the guise of “free speech.”
“Can you imagine a British businessman appearing at a rally in Washington, safely 3,000 miles away by video and telling Americans “fight or die”?” was one reaction on X.
“Malignant, lying narcissist… trying to buy democracy by talking through his arse again,” was another.
“Elon, the man who did a couple of Nazi salutes and constantly pushes fascist ideas, is upset people call him a fascist… Fuck you, Elon.”
This isn’t the first time Musk has waded into British politics. Last year, he attacked the Labour government over the grooming gangs scandal and slammed the UK’s Online Safety Act as a threat to freedom of expression.
Let’s not forget that Musk was once seen as an Obama-era liberal, and his pivot to the right, appears to be personal. In a 2024 interview with conservative Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, Musk cited the gender transition of his child during the pandemic as a defining moment.
“My son Xavier is dead, killed by the woke mind virus,” he said.
In June 2024, his campaign against transgender people and the policies designed to support them, moved up a gear when he pulled his businesses out of California to protest a new state law that bans schools from required that trans children be outed to their parents.
Musk told Peterson that his child’s gender transition has been the motivation for his push into conservative politics.
“I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus after that, and we’re making some progress,” he said.
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.
