Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Elon Musk jokes about buying UK to establish free speech
A funny website called The Babylon Bee made up a story saying that a very rich man named Elon Musk bought the whole country of the United Kingdom.
Their joke said he bought it so that people could say whatever they want.
Musk saw the joke on X and asked, 'How much is it?'
He was making a joke too, because he doesn't really want to buy a country.
People paid attention because Musk did something like this before.
In 2017, someone joked that he should buy Twitter, and he asked the same question.
A few years later, he actually bought Twitter for 44 billion dollars.
Musk cares a lot about free speech, and he even brought back the Babylon Bee's account after it was locked for a joke about a government official.
But there is no sign that he is really trying to buy the UK.
Elon Musk joked about buying the United Kingdom after a satirical post from The Babylon Bee claimed he had purchased the country to 'establish free speech' there.
Musk responded to the post on X with a brief question: 'How much is it?'
The quip echoes his 2017 response to a suggestion that he buy Twitter, which he went on to acquire for $44 billion in October 2022.
The Babylon Bee's account was locked by Twitter in March 2022 after it posted a joke naming Rachel Levine as 'Man of the Year', which Twitter said violated its hateful conduct policy.
Musk reinstated the Babylon Bee account in November 2022 alongside Kathy Griffin and Jordan Peterson; there is no indication he is actually attempting to buy Britain.
- Who
- Elon Musk, who joked in response to a satirical post from the US-based website The Babylon Bee.
- What
- Musk joked about buying the United Kingdom to 'establish free speech', replying 'How much is it?' to the satirical claim that he had purchased the country.
- When
- The exact date of the exchange is not specified in the article; it echoes his 2017 tweet, with his Twitter acquisition completed in October 2022.
- Where
- The exchange took place on X; the UK is the country in question, and The Babylon Bee is a US-based website.
- Why
- The joke drew attention because Musk previously made a similar quip in 2017 before actually buying Twitter for $44 billion, and because of his long-standing push for free speech on the platform.
Moderation Advocates
Free Speech Advocates
Twitter's content moderation
Moderation Advocates
Platforms are right to enforce hateful conduct policies, as Twitter did when it locked The Babylon Bee's account and required the offending post to be removed before access was restored.
Free Speech Advocates
The post should not have been deleted because free speech is essential to a functioning democracy; The Babylon Bee refused to remove it, and Musk pushed for greater free speech and reinstated the account after buying Twitter.
Owner control of speech platforms
Moderation Advocates
One billionaire controlling a major speech platform raises concerns about how content moderation decisions are made.
Free Speech Advocates
Musk's ownership of Twitter and his reinstatement of suspended accounts like The Babylon Bee's expands free expression on the platform.
- Musk's reply
- "How much is it?" on X
- Origin of the claim
- Satirical post from US website The Babylon Bee
- Twitter acquisition price
- $44 billion
- Twitter deal share price
- $54.20 per share
- Twitter acquisition completed
- October 2022
- Babylon Bee account locked
- March 2022, for violating Twitter's hateful conduct policy
- Account reinstated
- November 2022, alongside Kathy Griffin and Jordan Peterson
- Musk's stated principle
- "Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy" (March 2022)