Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, has been left out of the UK government’s International Investment Summit due to his social media activity during recent riots.
What Happened: The summit, scheduled for October, is a significant event where Prime Minister Keir Starmer aims to secure substantial foreign investments. Musk’s exclusion follows his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he predicted civil war in the UK and criticized the prime minister, reported BBC.
Responding to the report, Musk said, “I don't think anyone should go to the UK when they're releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts.”
During the August riots, Musk also shared, and later removed, a conspiracy theory about the UK establishing “detainment camps” on the Falkland Islands for rioters.
Government ministers according to the report condemned his remarks as “totally unjustifiable” and “pretty deplorable.”
Musk was invited to last year’s summit but did not attend. He did, however, participate in November’s AI Summit, engaging in a fireside chat with then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The summit comes just two weeks before the budget, presenting a crucial opportunity for the UK to attract foreign investment. The Labour Party had pledged to hold this event within its first 100 days in office.
Why It Matters: Musk’s exclusion from the summit is not an isolated incident. Recently, Brazil’s Supreme Court fined his social media platform X nearly $1 million daily for defying a ban. The court accused Musk of attempting to bypass the ban by switching X’s network provider, part of broader efforts to “clean up the internet.”
Additionally, Musk’s controversial posts have led to a significant decline in active users on X, especially in the UK. According to the Financial Times, active daily users in the UK have decreased from 8 million to around 5.6 million in the past year, with a noticeable drop following Musk’s controversial posts during the summer riots.
Moreover, the UK parliament plans to summon Musk to provide evidence about how X is run. Labour politician Dawn Butler aims to examine the use of algorithms in pushing hateful material and the moderation of such content on X.
Musk has stated that X intends to obey the law in each jurisdiction it operates in, while also championing free speech. In a podcast appearance, he emphasized that those who propagate false premises might fear public dialogue that could undermine their assertions.
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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