The Tesla tycoon said Mr Farage, who founded the party and is credited with its recent surge in the polls, "does not have what it takes". His call for change comes as a bitter blow after days of Mr Farage fawning over the world’s richest man, describing him as “a hero” and claiming he makes Reform “look cool”.
Just hours after Mr Farage was on TV praising Mr Musk, the billionaire took to his social media platform X to declare: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.” He had been expected to hand a multimillion-pound donation to Reform to aid its efforts to win the next general election amid a feud with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.
It is unclear why Mr Musk has withdrawn his support from Mr Farage, who he met at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion alongside Reform treasurer Nick Candy just weeks ago to discuss the party’s ground game and financing. Mr Farage and Mr Candy described their hour-long meeting as “great”. But the dramatic U-turn comes after Mr Farage refused to join Mr Musk’s calls to release jailed far-right political activist Tommy Robinson.
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