Elon Musk hits out at Britain after reported summit snub
Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest individual and CEO of Tesla, has expressed his displeasure with the United Kingdom government on X, a social media platform he owns. This comes after he was reportedly not invited to a major investment summit in Britain. In a cryptic post on Thursday, Musk said, "I don't think anyone should go to the UK when they're releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts."
Musk's post possibly refers to recent UK events
While Musk did not provide much context for his statement, it is believed that he was referring to two recent incidents in the UK. The first involves the sentencing of Tyler Kay and Jordan Parlour for inflammatory posts on X and Facebook during a period of hate-inspired violence in Britain. The second could be a critique of the UK's early prisoner release scheme due to jail overcrowding, which has included some sex offenders.
Musk's criticism follows non-invitation to UK summit
Musk's criticism of the UK government comes after he was not invited to Britain's International Investment Summit in October, hosted by Prime Minister Kier Starmer. The summit aims to attract leading investors to help boost Britain's economy. This is not the first time Musk has voiced his displeasure with the British government. During the August violence, he made several critical posts against it and specifically Starmer on X.
Musk's previous criticisms of the UK government
During the August violence, sparked by false rumors that an immigrant was responsible for a stabbing attack in Southport, Musk suggested that the UK was on the brink of civil war. He also criticized Starmer, calling him "two-tier Keir" over perceived leniency toward non-white perpetrators of violence. Furthermore, he briefly shared a conspiracy theory about the UK building camps in Falkland Islands to house rioters before deleting it.
UK government's response to Musk's past criticisms
The British government had previously responded to Musk's criticisms, labeling his comments as "deplorable and unjustifiable." In 2023, under the previous Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak, Musk was invited to a similar business summit but did not attend. However, he later participated in a fireside chat with Sunak during the AI Safety Summit. This close association between Sunak and Musk drew criticism from Starmer's Labour party politicians.
