Speaking to the Economist magazine’s editor-in-chief, Musk was asked whether he was “anti-Muslim”.

“If people are coming to a country with antithetical views, I am against that,” he said in response.

“I’m against rape and murder, I’m against the imposition of rules and laws that are contrary to what we’ve come to accept in the West. I think it’s a crying shame that the traditional media don’t recognise this.”

When pushed by Zanny Minton Beddoes on past comments suggesting “civil war” was “inevitable” in the UK, Musk said that it was “on the current trend”.

“That is nonsense. The numbers also disprove what you say. London is a much safer city than any city in the US,” said Beddoes in response. “You have painted Europe and the UK as overrun with terrifying Muslim immigrants, there’s rape on every corner, there’s civilisational destruction.”

Musk then conceded that it had been a “few years” since he had been to the UK, but also claimed he “didn’t say any of those things”.