Elon Musk Has Turned His Eye to the UK

Elon Musk likes to respond to posts on X with a heart emoji. He’s posted dozens this year alone, often in response to people praising his cars or directly to his mother’s posts.

But this week, Musk sent a heart emoji to Tommy Robinson, a far-right anti-Islam activist from the United Kingdom. Although Musk has largely ignored UK politics this year while working for the US government at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he appears to be back on the other side of the pond, spending his money and using his platform to elevate right-wing extremists.

“Thank you so much @elonmusk today. Legend,” Robinson wrote on Monday, after the first day of his two-day trial on an anti-terrorism law charge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. Robinson claimed this week that Musk funded his defense.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was charged under the Terrorism Act after he refused to allow police access to his cell phone in July 2024 while trying to leave the UK. Prosecutor Joe Morris told the judge this week that police believed there “may be information relevant to terrorist acts” on the phone at the time. Robinson pleaded not guilty and claimed the stop was illegal. A decision in this case is scheduled to be issued next month.

In a video posted on X ahead of the trial this week, Robinson said Musk had agreed to fund his defense. Robinson did not say how much Musk contributed to his defense fund, but Mark Stevens, a prominent British lawyer who in the past served as legal advisor to Julian Assange, told WIRED that if he covered Robinson’s defense in full, Musk’s bill would reach “easily half a million pounds.” [$665,000]And perhaps more so with appeals.

Robinson and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

Musk was constantly posting news about British politics at the beginning of the year until DOGE took over his focus. But after his stormy departure from Washington, Musk’s focus on Europe has once again created chaos. WIRED analyzed data provided by BrightData that shows a significant decline in the number of posts made by Musk about the UK after January of this year. After leaving the DOGE in May, Musk’s posts about the UK increased dramatically again in August.

Experts believe Musk’s continued support for the far-right in the UK is part of a potentially concerted effort to politically destabilize the region to prevent burdensome regulations – such as the EU’s Digital Services Act or the UK’s Online Safety Act – from being used to punish X.