Billionaire X boss Elon Musk ‘helping Tommy Robinson with £120k legal fees’

Tesla billionaire Elon Musk could reportedly hand Tommy Robinson up to £120,000 to cover his legal fees

The far-Right activist Tommy Robinson is reportedly being bankrolled by Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, months after the convicted criminal caused a rift between Musk and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Robinson has faced a slew of legal setbacks in recent months, including losing an appeal to shorten his 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court after he repeated libellous comments about a Huddersfield schoolboy.

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The activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also lost a challenge against his segregation in jail in March and was charged under the Terrorism Act for failing to disclose his mobile phone PIN number last year. He is currently being held in a closed wing at Woodhill in Milton Keynes, before his release in July, reports The Express.

The 42-year-old hasn’t had to cover all of the legal costs himself, however, according to a post shared to his Telegram channel in which a spokesperson thanked Musk for “agreeing to provide support [to Robinson] for two specific legal cases”. The cases in question, concerning “the treatment of Tommy while in prison” and the “Terrorism Case”, could add up to around £125,000 in legal fees, The i paper reports.

The world’s richest man began posting about Robinson after the Southport riots in July 2024, before calling for the controversial activist to be released from prison in January.

Robinson, who was formerly a member of the British National Party and the English Defence League, was behind bars for “telling the truth”, Musk alleged. Despite a previously friendly relationship, the posts caused a rift between the billionaire and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has made it clear he doesn’t want Robinson in his party.

Farage said Musk had “a whole range of opinions, some of which I agree with very strongly, and others of which I am reticent about”. The clash reached a head when the Tesla owner called for Farage to be replaced as Reform leader in January, suggesting he “doesn’t have what it takes”.

While it’s not clear how much of the legal costs have been shouldered by Musk, Robinson’s team described his intervention as “unexpected and generous” on Telegram, describing the financial support as a “complete surprise”.

“Obviously not everyone who is challenging such a case can afford this sort of representation or gets that level of support,” a legal expert told the i. “Generally, you would expect such cases just to be dealt with by a junior barrister and solicitor.”

Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, added: “Musk’s decision to support a notorious racist is shameful but unsurprising … the hateful rhetoric of Mr Yaxley-Lennon on X also benefits [Musk] financially through advertising revenue by generating controversy and outrage that drives eyeballs and attention.”

It comes as the Tesla CEO is reportedly set to retreat from his role at the forefront of Donald Trump’s administration, with insiders suggesting that his cost-cutting work through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had made him a “liability”.