With round two weeks left for the US presidential elections, the world’s richest particular person introduced a significant incentive for Republicans to register to vote in one of many key polling states.
On Saturday (October 19), billionaire Elon Musk stated one registered Republican from the state of Pennsylvania can be chosen to win $1 million day-after-day till polling day on November 5. To win, they need to signal a petition “to help Free Speech & Proper to Bear Arms”.
Musk has reportedly made the primary award to 1 John Dreher by way of the ‘America’ Political Motion Committee (PAC) he based. PACs assist pool funds for election campaigns, with Musk’s committee supporting “candidates who champion Safe Borders, Wise Spending, Protected Cities, Truthful Justice System, Free Speech and Self-Safety”.
Musk’s X bio overtly states that he helps Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump within the elections. As soon as a supporter of Democratic candidates resembling Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, how did the entrepreneur start championing conservative causes?
Pre-pandemic: Politically reasonable, socially ambivalent
The South Africa-born billionaire businessman and entrepreneur owns the auto firm Tesla, spacecraft producer SpaceX, and social media platform X (previously Twitter).
Musk had lengthy described his political beliefs as middle-of-the-road, even tweeting in 2018 that he was a “registered unbiased & politically reasonable” however not “reasonable about all points.” In 2016, he supported the thought of a Common Primary Revenue (UBI) to guard individuals from the automation of jobs as Synthetic Intelligence (AI) developed. Two years later, nonetheless, he decried an try by employees on the California Tesla manufacturing unit to unionise.
He reportedly endorsed Democrat presidential candidates Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and Hillary Clinton in 2016. In 2016, he described Donald Trump as “most likely not the suitable man” and missing “the kind of character that displays effectively on the US.”
Submit-pandemic: decrying “the woke thoughts virus”
The onset of the pandemic marked a particular turning level. Musk turned energetic on Twitter and like many different customers, speculated on the period and severity of the well being disaster. He doubled down on his feedback, telling The New York Occasions podcast in 2020 that he wouldn’t take the Covid-19 vaccine.
Since then, he made clear his discontent with President Biden, calling him a “damp sock puppet” for “ignoring” SpaceX and Tesla in favour of legacy firms.
A radicalisation professional who spoke to The Guardian in 2024 opined that Musk was guided by no ideas “besides no matter will enrich him, and a deep want for consideration and validation. He’s been getting the latter in spades from the far proper ever since he began on his rightward radicalisation and he’s constructed for himself the world’s largest echo chamber, which is able to solely proceed to gasoline that.”
Private points doubtless contributed to Musk’s swing to the suitable, with him connecting most of the politically delicate debates within the nation to his personal life. His daughter got here out as transgender in 2022 and utilized to vary her identify. He has cited this improvement as a purpose for his present political leaning, telling conservative psychologist-influencer Jordan Peterson that he had “misplaced his son” to the “woke thoughts virus”.
Elon Musk’s function within the Trump marketing campaign
After sustaining for years that he wouldn’t endorse both of the presidential candidates, most just lately in March, Musk endorsed Donald Trump because the Presidential candidate in July 2024. This occurred shortly after the assassination try towards Trump. Musk stated Trump wanted to win “to protect democracy” and advised Ohio Senator JD Vance as Trump’s potential operating mate. Vance was finally chosen because the Vice-Presidential candidate.
Earlier this month, Musk made his debut at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the positioning of the assassination try. Pennsylvania and some extra US states are additionally seen as not being aligned to both of the 2 events (referred to as “swing states”) and are up for grabs within the Presidential race. He described himself as “darkish MAGA”, alluding to a hardline conservative interpretation of the “Make America Nice Once more” values that Trump has espoused.
The Wall Road Journal final month uncovered that Elon Musk quietly started extending hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in donations from 2022 onwards to Republican teams aligned with Trump and former Republican Presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis.
A quarterly submitting with the US Securities and Trade Fee in October revealed that Musk, the only real donor to America PAC, spent about $75 million to help Trump’s election bid between July and September. The PAC has centered efforts on swing states and initiatives like Musk’s outreach to mobilise undecided voters within the upcoming election. The sway he holds by the possession of X, and his important private wealth, are seen as main belongings for the Trump marketing campaign.
