Elon Musk spent the weeks leading up to SpaceX’s historic stock market debut posting about race and immigration in the UK more than twice as often as he posted about his own company, according to an analysis of his activity on X.
The review examined Musk’s posts, replies and reposts between 31 May and 12 June and found that the billionaire’s attention was heavily focused on British politics, despite preparing for one of the biggest moments in his business career.
The period coincided with growing tensions across the UK following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa for the murder of teenager Henry Nowak. The case sparked false claims online about “anti white” policing and was followed by clashes involving far right protesters and police. At the same time, violent riots broke out in Belfast after protests erupted following a knife attack.
As ministers called for calm and urged people to reject violence, Musk was preparing for SpaceX’s flotation on the Nasdaq, which took place on 12 June. The listing valued the company at such a level that Musk became the world’s first trillionaire.
Despite the significance of the flotation, analysis found that Musk made 303 posts related to race and immigration during the period. Almost three quarters of those posts were connected to UK politics. By comparison, he posted just 114 times about SpaceX, including replies and reposts.
The figures highlight the growing amount of time Musk has devoted to British political issues, despite living primarily in the United States.
Following Digwa’s sentencing, Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Musk of attempting to inflame divisions within British society.
Starmer said Musk had been “interfering in our politics” and trying to “whip up division”, adding that Britain was a country of “reasonable, tolerant people” who should respond calmly to tragic events.
The timing of Musk’s political activity has raised questions because his public profile was central to SpaceX’s efforts to attract investors ahead of its market debut.
The company reserved an unusually large proportion of shares for ordinary retail investors rather than institutional buyers. It had hoped to raise around $75 billion through the listing but ultimately secured approximately $85.7 billion after a major investor campaign that included promotional events and a nationwide roadshow.
Yet even on the eve of the flotation, Musk’s social media activity remained focused on UK politics rather than his company.
Among his posts was a repost of a video featuring Rupert Lowe, leader of the Restore Britain party, calling for migrants who could not financially support themselves to be deported. That formed part of almost a dozen posts Musk shared that day about immigration and political issues in Britain. Other posts discussed multiculturalism and what he described as the decline of Western civilisation.
When one X user questioned why the world’s richest man was spending his time engaged in online culture wars instead of enjoying his wealth, Musk replied: “Nothing else matters if civilization falls.”
The analysis also found that Musk repeatedly returned to the Nowak case, at one stage posting five times within ten minutes. He highlighted details surrounding the teenager’s death and amplified commentary from accounts based in the United States, France and Japan. At least 20 of those posts each attracted more than 10 million views.
Musk has also continued to publicly support Stephen Yaxley Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson. In 2025, he appeared via livestream at Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally, prompting criticism from the UK government.
During the event, Musk told supporters: “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.”
Research suggests Musk’s focus on UK politics has intensified significantly over the past two years.
A comparison of his social media activity during previous periods of unrest found that fewer than 7 per cent of his posts during the 2024 summer riots were about race and immigration in Britain. Between 31 May and 12 June this year, that figure rose to 31 per cent as unrest unfolded in Southampton, where Henry Nowak was murdered, and in Belfast.
Dr Michael Vaughan, a research fellow at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics, said Musk’s immense wealth and connections with figures on the far right had given him an outsized influence over political debate.
He argued that Musk’s interventions help legitimise groups and individuals who might otherwise remain on the political fringe, making their views more difficult to dismiss.
Separate research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate found that replies to Musk’s posts following the Belfast knife attack contained around 240 calls for violence. The organisation also concluded that Musk’s reposts and interactions with Rupert Lowe and Tommy Robinson generated an additional 64 million views for their content, dramatically extending their reach beyond their own audiences.