Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and newly appointed Co-Chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), sparked controversy on December 5, 2024, with critical remarks directed at the U.K. government. The tech billionaire took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his dissatisfaction with the British Labour government, particularly targeting the handling of historical child abuse scandals. Musk accused U.K. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist” after she dismissed calls for an inquiry into child exploitation in Oldham. He also called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to face jail time regarding the prosecution of child grooming gangs, linking Starmer’s past role as Director of Public Prosecutions to the matter.
In response, U.K. Health Minister Wes Streeting condemned Musk’s comments as a “disgraceful smear,” highlighting the significant efforts both Starmer and Phillips have made in their fight against crimes such as child abuse. Musk’s barrage of social media criticisms concluded with a poll questioning whether the U.S. should “liberate the people of Britain,” escalating the dispute between him and British officials. Responses from Starmer and Phillips were not immediately available.
