Elon Musk is pictured in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C, on Feb. 11, 2025. Credit – Aaron Schwartz—Getty Images
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and former lead of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE], is facing calls for sanction considerations in the United Kingdom after giving a speech via video link at an anti-migrant rally.
British lawmaker Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has written a letter to U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, alleging that Musk attempted to “sow discord and incite violence” on U.K. streets with his remarks at the “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration, organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, on Saturday.
Musk, who has long commented on British politics via his social media platform, X, advocated for a change of government and told the London crowd of up to 100,000 people that “violence is coming to you” and “you either fight back or you die.”
He claimed that “massive uncontrolled migration” was contributing to the “destruction of Britain.”
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“I am writing to urge each of you to put party politics aside and join me in publicly condemning these dangerous remarks, and to jointly consider what sanctions Elon Musk should face as a consequence,” urged Davey in the letter, a copy of which was also sent to Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, and Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK.
“We must make it clear that no individual, however wealthy or powerful, can get away with using their platform to inflame tensions and incite violence,” emphasized Davey, adding that freedom of speech must be upheld, as well as the right to peaceful protest.
Musk responded directly to Davey’s publicization of the letter via social media, writing: “You are a craven coward.”
When contacted for comment, Downing Street directed TIME to a social media post shared by Starmer, within which he said “people have a right to peaceful protest” but condemned assaults on officers or people being made to feel intimidated.
“We will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin,” Starmer said. “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear, and division.”
Starmer has yet to publicly respond to Davey’s letter.
Farage responded to Musk’s remarks on Monday during a press conference announcing Member of Parliament (MP) Danny Kruger’s defection to Reform UK from the Conservative Party.
“Elon and I have a relationship, wouldn’t say a very good one. He’s generally rather rude about me, even though I do admire him in many ways. It would be nice to get some clarification of what ‘fight’ meant in that context,” Farage said when asked for his response on Musk’s “fight or die” comment.
“If the fight that Musk was talking about was about standing up for our rights of free speech, if it was about fighting in elections to overcome the established parties, then that absolutely is the fight that we’re in… I think the context, the way the word was used, left a degree of ambiguity.”
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According to police, 26 officers were injured during the demonstration in London and at least 25 arrests were made. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist has said more arrests may follow as a “post-event investigation” is underway.
Anti-immigration messages played a large part in the demonstration, with people holding signs with messages such as “send them home.” This comes amid rising tensions between the public and politicians regarding migration policies.
A hotel housing asylum-seekers in Epping, a town in England located just outside of London, was a key focal point of protests over the summer. A judge ruled in August for asylum-seekers staying at the hotel to be reallocated after the site faced “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption,” according to the local Epping Forest District Council.
Contact us at letters@time.com.
