Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, would still be welcome to invest in the UK, said Sir Keir Starmer, even after a recent controversy.
The BBC reported that Musk wasn’t invited to the UK’s International Investment Summit because of things he posted on social media during riots in August.
Sir Keir clarified that he didn’t want people to misunderstand his stance, telling BBC News that he supports investment in the UK from anyone.
He emphasized how important good investments are for the UK’s economy, especially during a trip to New York where he met Donald Trump and other US business leaders to promote UK investment opportunities.
The International Investment Summit, happening next month, is a major event where the UK hopes to attract big investors from around the world to bring billions of pounds into the country. Last year, Musk was invited but didn’t attend.
However, he did take part in the UK’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit in November, having a discussion with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Jeremy Hunt, the former Conservative chancellor and now shadow chancellor, told BBC News that it was a “big loss” for Musk not to attend this year’s event.
Hunt mentioned that Musk had considered building a new Tesla car plant in Europe, with the UK being one of the potential locations.
After the news broke that Musk wasn’t invited to the summit, he lashed out on social media, making critical comments about the UK. On his platform, X (formerly Twitter), Musk claimed that no one should go to the UK because they are releasing convicted criminals while punishing people for what they post on social media. During the August riots, several people were jailed for encouraging violence through social media.
During the riots, Musk also predicted civil war in the UK and criticized the government, even sharing a false conspiracy theory about the UK building camps for rioters on the Falkland Islands, which he later deleted.
Government ministers at the time said Musk’s comments were “completely unjustified” and “pretty awful,” as reported by BBC News.
BBC News continues to provide updates on this situation, giving insights into how the UK and Tesla may navigate future investments despite this recent dispute.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wk15xlr2po