Nigel Farage has met Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion amid rumours the tech billionaire is preparing to donate $100m to Reform UK.
The two men met at the Florida club on Monday, alongside Reform’s new party treasurer Nick Candy. In a statement, Mr Farage and Mr Candy described their hour-long meeting as “great”.
They did not mention money but said they had “learned a great deal about the Trump ground game” and would have “ongoing discussions” with the Tesla boss on other areas.
They added: “We only have one more chance left to save the West and we can do great things together. Our thanks also to president Trump for allowing us to use Mar-a-Lago for this historic meeting. The special relationship is alive and well.”
The money would be by far the largest donation in British electoral history.
According to The Sunday Times, leading businessmen and Conservative Party officials believe that Musk could hand over the cash as a “f*** you Starmer” payment as part of his feud with the prime minister.
At the end of last month, the controversial tech billionaire and “first buddy” of Mr Trump even shared a post on X (Twitter) claiming that Reform UK will win the next general election, captioning his repost with the word “yes”.
Asked earlier this month about the reports of the massive donation by ITV, Mr Musk denied he was planning to donate $100m, but his response did not rule out another amount.
Asked by ITV News if he was planning to give the upstart party £80m, Mr Musk – who has been appointed by Mr Trump to lead a new government efficiency commission in the US – replied “no”.
In a picture shared on Musk’s X, the three men posed in front of a 1989 painting of Mr Trump called The Visionary (or The Entrepreneur).
American journalist Mark Bowden previously likened the portrait of a “Sun God” with a “wide-shouldered, thin-hipped Donald, his youthful face eclipsing the sun itself, his skin glowing like the top floors of Trump Tower at sunset, the colour of warm bullion”.
Mr Farage has previously described Mr Musk as “very supportive”.
“He thinks that if Reform do well in the UK, we can bring about the same kind of change that he intends to do with Donald Trump in America,” the party leader said.
But Mr Farage has also previously criticised American political figures for their involvement in British politics. He said that then-president Barack Obama had “behaved disgracefully” by suggesting the UK would be “at the back of the queue” for a US trade deal if it voted for Brexit.
Mr Farage has repeatedly insisted he knows nothing about a potential contribution to Reform from Mr Musk, but said the party would take the money if it were offered.
Mr Musk is reported to have spent more than $250m (£197m) in his campaign to re-elect Mr Trump. Mr Farage has been criticised for travelling to America on a number of occasions since his election as the new MP for Clacton in July.
