The billionaire appears to have a David Brent-like desire to be seen as an entertainer. Please let him get back to conquering Mars

What, as they say, is Elon Musk’s deal? There will be a lot of justifiably righteous commentary about his hijacking of the debate around sexually abused girls in the north of England this week, but why this particular meltdown and why now?

On Tuesday, after attacking Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips, the world’s richest man waxed lachrymose about his British “Nana”, a woman identified as Cora Amelia Musk, nee Robinson, and the mother of Musk’s father, Errol. Errol Musk, you may recall, grew up to father two children with his own stepdaughter, so perhaps poor Elon has simply been triggered?

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist