Ed Miliband has told Elon Musk to “get the hell out of our politics and our country” in a dramatic intervention on the main stage of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
The energy secretary’s criticism of the tech billionaire came as part of a wider attack on Reform leader Nigel Farage, who he claimed is part of a “global network who together want to destroy the ties that bind our communities and our way of life”.
It comes after Elon Musk drew condemnation from Downing Street for telling demonstrators at a London rally organised by Tommy Robinson to “fight back” or “die”.
“The threat from Reform goes beyond their climate denying agenda,” Mr Miliband said in a speech on the final day of the Labour Party conference.
“The truth is, I wish Nigel Farage was just the snake oil, Tory city boy we’ve known about for years. He’s actually morphed into something even more dangerous
“He’s now a key part of a global network that wants to destroy the ties that bind our communities and our way of life. And I can sum up the threat in two words: Elon Musk.”
The energy secretary continued: “Elon Musk. He incites violence on our streets. He calls for the overthrow of our elected government. He is an enabler of disinformation through X.
“He thinks he can tell us how to run Britain. Conference, we have a message for Elon Musk: Get the hell out of our politics and our country,” he said.
Mr Miliband also claimed Reform will “betray” every young person and future generations by waging a war on clean energy, as he announced a host of initiatives aimed at bringing energy bills down and boosting green jobs.
Labour has been using its conference in Liverpool to draw battle lines with Reform as it trails behind the party in the polls. The party has been ramping up its attacks on Nigel Farage’s party, with Sir Keir Starmer saying Labour is in a “fight for the soul of this country”.
Speaking at the Unite the Kingdom rally in London earlier this month, Mr Musk said: “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.”
The American owner of Tesla and X/Twitter also called for an urgent change in government in the UK in his guest appearance at the protest.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said Mr Musk’s words threatened “violence and intimidation on our streets”, adding: “I don’t think the British public will have any truck with that kind of language.”
Asked about the tech billionaire’s comments at the time, Mr Farage – who has previously praised Mr Musk as a “hero” – said the “context” in which the words had been used left a “degree of ambiguity”.
“If the fight that Musk was talking about was about standing up for our rights and free speech, if it was about fighting in elections to overcome the established parties, then that absolutely is the fight that we’re in,” he said.
But Mr Farage also condemned violence against police, which took place at the protest, saying it was “horrible” and he “feared something like that would happen”.
