Elon Musk on Europe, the far right and civil war in Britain | The Economist

You support not just the populist right but the  far right in fact very fringe parties in some. countries I support the normal people okay what  you call the far right falsely you think is the. normal person okay yes um literally you could you  could go back uh 10 or 15 years and these these. these policies were completely normal in fact  you you one of the one of the tricks I think is. funny what I think is that's quite funny is to  like take a speech from Obama and Hillary and then. and and go to someone say uh who's sort of um you  know on the sort of what I call the lunatic left.

um and say what do you think of the speech by  Trump like oh wow he's the worst person ever. actually that was a speech by Obama or  actually that was a speech by Hillary. I I I agree no I agree that the center of  gravity in this country has shifted certainly. the Democratic party shifted to the left but  that's not what I'm talking about I'm talking. about people like Rupert Lowe people it's actually  just normal people um it's just normal people. it's just normal people And um the and and  here are the principles and and tell me which.

of these sound terrible. Um that we should have  secure borders, that we should have safe cities, uh that we should have sensible spending. Which of  those three are are are far right fringe and and. I would like to just admonish you and the media  for the absurd characterization of the far right. It is false and misleading and nonsense. Please  keep this part in. We'll keep all of this. in. But [laughter] let me let me let me Don't cut  this part. Let me push back on that. Let me push.

back on that because you have nonsense. Elon, you  have what is it? Close to 250 million followers on. X. Yeah. You say things like popular guy.  Quote, "Civil war in Britain is inevitable.". Just a question. On the current trend. Yes. I  mean, when were you last in the UK? Um, a few. years ago. Exactly. So, so I live there. I'm there  the whole time. That is not you live in a closed. existence. No, I don't actually. And the numbers  also disprove what you say. What numbers? All the.

numbers about London is a much safer city than  any city in the United States. Violent crime in. the UK is not where you think it is. In fact, it's  coming down. You you have painted and because you. have so many followers, so many Americans believe  it. A a kind of view that Europe in and the UK are. kind of, you know, overrun with terrifying Muslim  immigrants. There's rape on every corner. there's. a sort of civilizational destruction. I haven't  said any of those things. If you have uh a large.

uh and growing rapidly growing uh group of  of people whose beliefs are antithetical. to western beliefs um at some point there will be  a reckoning that that they they will they will try. to implement their views and those who oppose it  will oppose it and that's what you call civil war. And obviously this is the trend. Um and uh and and  you absolutely do live in a cloistered existence.

And if you'd like we can go on a tour of Britain.  Sure. Happy to come on a tour of Britain. And then. and you will see for yourself. Come see my country  that I live in all the time and you haven't been. to a few years. I've been there literally a  hundred times. But when was the last time? Literally a few years ago. You know why I this  exercises me? because you have really shaped. opinion about the UK and so many Americans I  come across and I have conversations with and. they'll be and I just had one the other day along  the order of oh London such a dangerous place.

how can you know there are sort of grooming  gangs everywhere there are there's violence. everywhere this is a picture that people get  from things that you post or that are posted on X. and for example you're you're posting for what was  it 48 hours of Citizen Vigilante that film which. you know paints a dystopian. I've watched it. Yes,  it was not fun. I watched it yesterday. It's not a. very good movie, but it's also paints a dystopian  picture of Europe and it glorifies vigilante. violence. It glorifies the murdering of a Muslim  immigrant family. I honestly think that it is.

irresponsible for you to put that up on X. I think  that it's it's a movie um and it's worth watching. People say that you're a racist. What is the  motivation for doing that? Are you fermenting? My partner is is is um she's half Indian and my my  and I have four children with her. Um you know um. one of them was named after a famous Indian  physicist. Um so I I would say I'm not racist.

And also uh the you know if you look at the  people that are employed at my companies um. you know we have senior executives of  all races. Uh there there's there's. I don't think there's any racism there.  Are you anti-Muslim? Um I am I'm against uh. having if if if if people  are coming to a country with.

antithetical views um I I am against that.  I I'm against that, you know. I'm against um. I I I'm against rape and murder. I'm against  uh the imposition of rules and laws that are. contrary to what we've come to  accept in the west. Um, and um,

and I think it's a it's it's a crying shame that  the sort of traditional media like you um, uh, don't recognize this. Why should you be  able to shape European politics? Wasn't. you don't even live there. I think of it as the  sort of the West collectively. But do you see why. this makes people think that this man who has  all this power, he's the world's richest man, he thinks he has a right to influence  our politics. It makes people It's why,

you know, we started this conversation saying  superlatives. It's why people loathe you. I mean, some people do loathe you. Yes, some  people do. But do you understand why do you. think what you're doing is helpful for Western?  Maybe maybe some people do loathe me. I And that's. and that's probably true. I don't care. Um the  uh but but the fact that uh as you pointed out. a quarter billion people follow me is that I think  a lot more people actually like me than don't. and I think a lot more people hate you  and the media uh more than you realize.