In the midst of this election year’s political whirlwind, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has caused a stir with his recent political views. Formerly a steadfast supporter of the Democratic party, Musk’s stance has taken a dramatic turn as he now champions a “red wave” to salvage the United States.
He says the US is finished unless the GOP prevails in this year’s elections. “I voted 100% Dem until a few years ago. Now, I think we need a red wave or America is toast,” Musk wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
Musk’s Criticisms Of Biden’s Decisions
Musk has openly criticized President Biden and the Democratic Party. He has slammed Biden’s approach to the Southern border crisis and believes the Democrats are overly being “controlled” by the unions.
Musk, who said he voted for Biden in 2020, became critical of him after Tesla was excluded from the president’s electric-vehicle summit in 2021.
White House Treatment Of Tesla Prompts Musk’s Criticism
The Tesla CEO spent the last Christmas holidays slamming Biden’s treatment of his company. “Let’s not forget the White House giving Tesla the cold shoulder, excluding us from the EV summit and crediting GM with ‘leading the electric car revolution’ in the same quarter that they delivered 26 electric cars and Tesla delivered 300 thousand,” Musk wrote on X.
Musk expanded on his criticisms of Biden the next day when he accused Biden of being beholden to the unions.
Musk Says Democrats Are Controlled By Unions
“Most of the Democratic Party is controlled by the unions — they carry far more weight than the environmentalists — and Biden particularly so (he gladly admits it),” Musk wrote in another X post on Christmas Day, last year while reposting a Biden speech from May 2021.
“In Biden’s speech, posted on WhiteHouse.gov, he literally says ‘the UAW elected me,'” Musk continued. “The White House cold shoulder started well before I ‘said controversial things.'”
Tesla’s Exclusion A Huge Bugbear For Musk
Musk has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with Tesla’s absence from Biden’s EV summit in 2021. The billionaire has frequently made reference to the incident, including during his appearance at The New York Times Dealbook Summit last year.
“They held an electric vehicle summit at the White House and specifically refused to let Tesla attend. Biden went on to add insult to injury and publicly said GM was leading the electric car revolution,” Musk told moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Musk Calls Biden’s Administration A Disappointment
In November 2022, Musk said he backed Ron DeSantis, the Republican candidate for president and Governor of Florida.
“My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would be the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far,” Musk said in an X post at the time.
“I Voted Biden Not Trump,” Musk Says
In an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” back in April last year, it was reported that the billionaire talked about his voting history and who he might support in this year’s elections. Musk reportedly stated that he hadn’t voted for Donald Trump but had voted for Biden.
He also mentioned that he wasn’t a huge fan of Biden, as it would probably be inaccurate to say so. ”But you know, we have difficult choices to make in the presidential elections,” he said.
I’d Prefer A Normal Person With Common Sense
Looking ahead, Musk added, “I would prefer, frankly, that we put just a normal person as president, a normal person with common sense and whose values are smack in the middle of the country, just center of the normal distribution and I think that they would be great.”
Although Musk has shown he doesn’t like Biden, he hasn’t supported Biden’s opponent, former President Donald Trump, yet. Musk said to moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin at a summit in November, “I don’t think I would vote for Biden. I’m not saying I’d vote for Trump.”
Trump Meets Musk In Florida: Musk Denies Donation
Trump and Musk met in Florida on March 3, according to a report from The New York Times, which cited sources familiar with the meeting. The Times reported Trump was looking for new donors for his campaign.
While Musk did confirm that the meeting did happen, he also did maintain that he is not a donor to Trump.
Trump Didn’t Ask For Money
“I was at a breakfast at a friend’s place and Donald Trump came by, that’s it,” Musk told former CNN host Don Lemon in an interview that aired on March 18.
“I’m not paying his legal bills in any way, shape or form. And he did not ask me for money,” Musk said in the interview.
Musk Affirms No Presidential Candidate Donations
Musk, one of the richest people globally, has stated before that he won’t give money to any presidential candidate.
He repeated this in an interview, saying that though he might support a candidate nearer to the November election, it’s “unlikely” he’d ever donate money.
I’ll Voice My Opinion But No Monetary Support—Musk
“While I’ll voice my opinion, I don’t want to put a thumb on the scale monetarily,” he said.
Though Musk said he had not made a decision about who he’d vote for, he jokingly added: “I’m leaning away from Biden. I’ve made no secret of that.”
Musk Doesn’t Rule Out Endorsing A Candidate
That said, Musk has not completely ruled out the possibility that he might vote for Trump in the November elections.
“I may, in the final stretch, endorse a candidate. But I don’t know yet,” Musk told Lemon. “I want to make a considered decision before the election, and if I do decide to endorse a candidate then I would explain exactly why.”
Musk’s Mixed Views On Biden, Trump, And Age In Politics
Musk has both praised and criticized President Biden and Donald Trump in the past few years. He mentioned that the US and many other nations have a “gerontocracy,” meaning a government dominated by much older citizens compared to most of the population.
Additionally, he’s advocated for maximum age limits for lawmakers, suggesting that politicians should ideally be within 10 or at least 20 years of the average age of the population.
