EXCLUSIVE: Nigel Farage stood his ground after the tech tycoon called for a new leader of Reform UK in an ongoing social media spat.

Nigel Farage has said 10 Reform councillors who quit in protest regarding his "autocratic" leadership were put forward by a "rogue branch" of the party.

The Reform UK leader was branded "disloyal" and "autocratic" by the 12 councillors that resigned in protest against his leadership.

Nigel Farage has insisted he is still friends with Elon Musk and has spoken to him since his online attack that the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Farage responded to the fall-out, saying: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”

Nigel Farage and Lee Anderson are among three Reform MPs accused of profiting from “spreading hateful rhetoric” after it emerged they’ve made thousands of pounds from posting on Elon Musk’s X. Mr Farage,

Mr Musk’s allyship with Mr Farage would seem like a natural fit, given that the Reform leader’s relationship with Mr Trump goes back much further. The pair first met in 2016, shortly after the president-elect’s first election victory, and they are thought to have remained allies since.

Reform UK has been rocked by a revolt of 10 councillors, after they resigned over Nigel Farage’s leadership following Elon Musk’s online outburst calling for his resignation. After the party leader distanced himself from Musk’s support for hardline activist Tommy Robinson,

Last weekend, the Tesla and Space X owner posted that Mr Farage ‘doesn’t have what it takes’ to lead the party.