Elon Musk is reportedly looking into how British Prime Minister Keir Starmer can be “removed” from his position before the next election.
This is just the latest of Musk’s forays into the domestic politics of other countries, as he tries to play kingmaker to right-populist candidates. In recent months, the world’s richest man wrote an editorial endorsing the ultra-reactionary AfD for the upcoming election in Germany; lashed out at the governments of Australia, Romania, and Brazil; and has tweeted in support of Pierre Poilievre in Canada.
His obsession at the moment is Britain. During the anti-immigrant demonstrations that took place in the UK this past summer, Musk expressed vocal support for the rioters, and attacked the governing Labour Party’s response, tweeting, “Britain is going full Stalin.” After that, Musk entered discussions to make a large donation to Reform UK, the political vehicle of reactionary demagogue Nigel Farage, only to withdraw support when Farage failed to speak out in support of leading British fascist Tommy Robinson. And now he is openly musing about overthrowing a democratically elected government.
Of course his behaviour has drawn condemnation from his capitalist political opponents, who accuse Musk of “foreign interference” and “spreading misinformation”. This is the height of hypocrisy.
The bourgeois press and governments are shameless about spreading misinformation when it suits them—look no further than the coverage of Israel’s genocide in Gaza for countless examples.
As for “foreign interference” capitalist governments intervene in the affairs of other countries constantly. This is true both for countries that they dominate—like supporting attempted coups in Venezuela—and of their supposed allies—like the British Labour Party stumping for the Democrats prior to Trump’s election.
Musk hasn’t done anything illegal. He’s just sharing his opinions and spending his money, doing what any other capitalist would do. What concerns his fellow capitalists in Europe is that he’s doing so very publicly and very clumsily, exposing publicly how bourgeois democracy really works.
Democracy is supposed to be based on the principle of one person, one vote. In reality, workers are excluded from the halls of power by a hundred different means, while politicians are tied to the capitalists through money and common interests. Democracy under capitalism is capitalist rule. And it’s the most stable form of capitalist rule: by allowing for elections and the peaceful transfer of power between parties, the masses can express their political dissatisfaction, while real power stays in the hands of capital. As Friedrich Engels wrote, “Wealth here employs its power indirectly, but all the more surely.”
But this only works when workers believe that their votes matter. Elon is playing a dangerous game, stepping out from behind the curtain to show who really pulls the strings.
In his editorial in the German paper Welt, Musk wrote, “As someone who has made significant investments in Germany’s industrial and technological landscape, I believe I have the right to speak openly about its political orientation.” He has the money, so he has the right to do whatever he wants, and damn any pretence otherwise.
Like Trump, Musk is just saying the quiet part out loud, exposing the sham of bourgeois democracy, and that’s why the intelligent members of the capitalist class hate him. In pursuing his own narrow interests, he is undermining the basis for stable bourgeois rule— when workers realize there’s no solution through bourgeois democracy, they will seek a revolutionary way forward.
