The world’s richest man has been busy this week. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk would be donating $45 million a month – $180 million from July through October – to America PAC, a political action committee dedicated to reelecting former President Donald Trump.
On the same day, Musk announced that he would be moving the headquarters of SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) from California to Texas because of a new law that protects transgender children.
“This is the final straw,” Musk wrote on X, adding that he told California Gov. Gavin Newsom last year that affirming laws like this one would lead to an exodus of families who want to “protect their children.”
To me, none of the mogul’s recent moves are surprising. They will, however, affect how the presidential election plays out – and possibly assist in re-electing Trump. That should concern all of us because of the power owning X gives him and his willingness to wield it.
Musk has been trending right for years. This just makes it official.
Musk wasn’t always a right-wing fan boy, but it has been part of his public persona for a few years.
In 2016, he endorsed Hillary Clinton and told CNBC that Trump “doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.” Musk has also said that he supported former President Barack Obama and voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.
Despite these previous inklings of liberalism – including, at one point, describing himself as a “socialist” – Musk has been trending to the right and donating to Republicans for years.
In 2022, Musk said via a meme that perceived extremism on the left has led him to become more of a moderate conservative. Since then, he’s said that he would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a presidential run and said in 2023 that he believed the Republican Party should choose Vivek Ramaswamy for vice president. Neither is a moderate conservative.
It’s especially visible in Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now X. We're talking about the same guy who barred the use of the word “cisgender” because of his own hang-ups about trans people.
His determination to make the site less “woke” led to the 2022 reinstatement of Trump’s account and, according to a Washington Post analysis, an increased popularity of right-wing figures on the platform.
Transgender member of Congress?
Sarah McBride could become the first trans person elected to Congress. It's about time.
All of this makes sense for Musk as he continues down his path as a right-wing influencer and general social media troll. You only have to look as far as his personal social media and overzealous fanbase to see the overlap between his cult of personality and the right.
This is something that should concern everyone, even those of us who don't particularly care what Musk has to say about politics.
Musk puts business over everything, and right now, he thinks Trump is good for business. I’m not shocked that Musk has made a hard pivot toward the Republican Party. He’s been telling us who he is for a while now. And as much as he complains about the left, it’s unlikely that liberals are solely responsible for driving Musk away from the Democrats and out of California.
Musk is, first and foremost, a businessman. He knows that a Trump-controlled federal government will provide him tax cuts and lucrative business contracts, and that the Securities and Exchange Commission is far likelier to take it easy on him with the GOP in power.
Trump himself has mocked Musk's "many subsidised projects."
It’s also highly likely that his plans to leave California are business-minded, as well. In moving X and SpaceX to Texas, he also leaves behind California’s corporate tax rate and labour laws. He’s already seen the benefits since moving Tesla’s headquarters to Austin.
What's concerning is how he may influence others.
Aside from owning one of the largest social media platforms in the world, he has a loyal fanbase that follows his every move. With his huge contributions to Trump's re-election and a bully pulpit to opine from, there's no telling how much he will affect the upcoming presidential election.
Musk has always been a political force – he's just being more open about it.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno and Facebook facebook.com/PequenoWrites
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