Elon Musk steps into the UK energy crisis

LONDON — Elon Musk has been granted a license to supply energy in the U.K.

Ofgem announced Thursday morning it has issued Musk-owned Tesla Energy Ventures with a license to provide electricity to U.K. businesses and households. 

It brings a fresh contender into the supplier market, amid fears the global energy crisis will force up household bills. 

The decision comes at the end of a seven-month approval process.

Musk’s bid to enter the U.K. market has been highly controversial, after the world’s richest man and ally of U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government’s handling of the grooming gangs scandal. 

Musk appeared last year via video link at a rally organized by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, where he warned that “violence is going to come” to the British people “whether you choose violence or not.”  

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband responded at the Labour Party conference in September: “We have a message for Elon Musk. Get the hell out of our politics and our country.” Miliband said Musk “incites violence on our streets.”  

But Miliband would not be drawn at the time on whether Tesla Ventures should be granted an energy license. He insisted it was a matter for Ofgem and had to “go through the proper process.” 

Miliband has faced calls from the centrist Liberal Democrats, and from some of Labour’s own MPs, to block the license. 

After Musk’s comments about violence, Labour backbencher Clive Lewis said in September: “Elon Musk shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near our critical infrastructure.”

The news comes at it a critical time for the domestic retail market, with industry warnings that customer debts have hit £5.5 billion. Disruption of key trade routes in the Gulf has pushed up wholesale gas and oil prices sharply.  

Ofgem’s license for Tesla Ventures took effect on Wednesday, the regulator said. 

It said the company must comply with all licensing conditions including requirements for treating customers fairly, financial responsibility, operational capability, billing, information provision and consumer protection. 

Ofgem will have assessed whether Musk was a “fit and proper” person to lead a U.K energy supplier, although experts have previously said that is unlikely to take political statements into account.

Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been approached for comment.