Elon Musk's rise to power after cruel childhood with dad he branded 'evil'
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If you have set foot on X over the last few days, you may well have been horrified by the levels of toxic vitriol thrown out by its owner, Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX mogul who, with a net worth of £340bn, is the richest person in the world, has spent hours promulgating far-right conspiracy theories about grooming gangs, spreading disinformation about Keir Starmer's time as head of the CPS, and targeting several Labour MPs - including lifelong women's rights campaigner Jess Phillips.
But who is Elon Musk and what is motivating him to meddle in other countries' politics? As well as praising Reform leader Nigel Farage - then hours later denouncing him for disagreeing with Musk's personal opinions on Tommy Robinson - the tech billionaire has also been throwing his support behind the far-right AfD political party in Germany.
With a direct line to incoming US president Donald Trump, we look at how Musk has risen to unprecedented power - and why... Having thrown his support behind the twice-impeached former president Donald Trump during his third bid for the White House, Musk spent weeks in the run-up to the 2024 U.S election bombarding his X followers with posts about how only Trump could save the country.
Musk was also roundly mocked for his bizarre behaviour at a Trump rally, in which he was seen jumping up and down on the stage as Trump watched. His slavish loyalty was rewarded when Trump - who is still awaiting sentencing for the 34 felonies he was convicted for in the hush money scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels - appointed Musk joint head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, which will aim to cut government spending.
