Musk says 'my Irish friends are awesome' in response to story about far-right contacts

James Cox

Billionaire Elon Musk has said "my Irish friends are awesome" in response to an Irish Times investigation of his far-right contacts in Ireland.

The Irish Times piece, titled 'Elon Musk’s Irish friends and their influence on the powerful billionaire', profiled several far-right agitators whose posts Mr Musk has shared with his 218 million followers on X, formerly Twitter.

The X owner recently followed Irish far-right activist Michael O’Keeffe.

Mr Musk regularly shares O'Keeffe's anti-immigration posts, which contain many falsehoods.

He also engages with a man from Co Cork, who goes by the name Barry O'Driscoll, and suggested calling Mr Musk's cost-cutting department in Donald Trump's administration, “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)”.

Mr Musk has also interacted with Keith O’Brien, a white nationalist who goes by the name Keith Woods on X.

He shared the post on X on Friday, writing: "My Irish friends are awesome!"

My Irish friends are awesome! 🇮🇪 https://t.co/1Y3z5UPnYq

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2025

The South African billionaire, who controls Tesla and SpaceX along with X, has taken on an incredibly powerful role in Mr Trump's second administration.

He recently appeared at a press conference with Mr Trump in the Oval Office, bringing along his four-year-old son to the White House briefing.

Numerous jokes have circulated about Mr Musk being the 'real president', which have reportedly infuriated Mr Trump in private.

Nonetheless, their relationship appears strong, and Mr Trump said he is happy with the cuts Mr Musk has made in a Truth Social post on Saturday, adding that he wants him to be even more ruthless.

The Irish Times piece adds that at least one employee at the Irish embassy in Washington is "responsible for monitoring and documenting Musk’s interactions with Irish accounts".