Elon Musk has responded after being excluded from the United Kingdom government’s upcoming International Investment Summit set for October 14, reportedly due to his recent social media posts, as per BBC News.
The billionaire, known for his often provocative remarks on X, aimed at the UK in response and 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,” he wrote on X.His comments referred to recent UK policies aimed at reducing prison overcrowding, though the government has clarified that no individuals convicted of sex offences were released.
The tech tycoon exclusion follows last month’s UK riots, which erupted after a fatal stabbing in Southport, resulting in the deaths of three children. During the unrest, some were jailed for inciting violence via social media. Musk’s own posts during the period, including a now-deleted conspiracy theory about “detainment camps” for rioters on the Falkland Islands, sparked criticism. Officials at the time condemned his remarks as “totally unjustifiable” and “pretty deplorable.”
The International Investment Summit is a critical event where Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hopes to attract foreign investment to boost the UK economy. Musk had been invited to last year’s event but did not attend, though he played a key role in the November AI Summit, including a conversation with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
David Yelland, a public relations expert, said that Musk’s inclusion this year would have been “reputationally disastrous” for the event. “He behaves like a child and posts things that are deeply inaccurate and extremely damaging,” Yelland told the BBC.
While the government declined to comment on Musk’s absence from the summit, former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt expressed disappointment, calling it a “big loss” and noting that Musk had previously considered UK as a site for a new Tesla plant.