Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has slammed "delusional" Elon Musk after the X and Tesla owner suggested that the UK is on the brink of a "civil war".
Musk became embroiled in a war of words with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer after responding to videos posted on social media of the violent protests across the country.
Musk also replied to a post on X from Starmer in which he declared he will "not tolerate attacks on mosques or Muslim communities", responding: "Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?"
Taking aim at the British police forces, Musk also suggested that the handling of the protests appears "one sided".
Tom Tugendhat has hit out at 'delusional' Elon Musk following a public spat on X
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Addressing the comments made by Musk, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat said the SpaceX founder was "delusional" and the comments made were "simply false".
When asked by the media for his thoughts on social media becoming a space for "conspiracy theories", Tugendhat said: "The question as to how we operate on social media is a difficult one.
"It's one of the reasons that many of us have to make different decisions. I refuse to be on TikTok because the algorithm is set by a foreign dictatorship."
The Tory leadership hopeful also made time for a joke about Russian leader Vladimir Putin, when asked by a reporter if he believes the President is "watching what is happening in Britain".
Elon Musk claimed Britain is on the brink of 'civil war' following the protests across the country
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Tugendhat quipped: "I think Putin's a little distracted right now."
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He then added: "But the reality is that I don't think this is driven by foreign disinformation. I think foreign actors try to exploit it.
"It's not that they're actually creating the situation, it's that once the situation is created, they're seeking to pour fuel onto a fire. And that's what we've got to be incredibly conscious of."
Turning the discussion back to Musk, Tugendhat was asked by another reporter if there is a need from the Labour government for more regulation on social media, and if he would "stand up to the billionaires personally" if he was elected leader of the Tories.
Tugendhat responded: "I've already set out my support for the Online Safety Act. I think foreign companies with foreign ownership and foreign leadership are responsible to themselves.
Tugendhat said foreign companies with 'foreign ownership and foreign leadership are responsible to themselves'
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"It's quite right that we could criticise, but it's up to the shareholders. And in this case there's one shareholder and it's him. So it really is a decision for them.
"I think advertisers are making pretty clear their views and others may well follow."
