Elon Musk, the tech mogul and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is diving headfirst into the US presidential election, throwing his weight, and his money, behind Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. In a series of high-profile rallies in Pennsylvania, Musk has been using his platform and his considerable wealth to energize Trump supporters and fuel a fiery, often controversial, campaign message.
On Saturday, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk held a rally where he promised to give away $1 million every day until Election Day to anyone who signed his online petition supporting the US Constitution. The catch? The petition also implicitly endorsed Trump’s candidacy by urging voters to support the First and Second Amendments, a core issue for the Republican base. One lucky attendee, John Dreher, was chosen at random to receive the first $1 million check, with Musk making sure to highlight Dreher’s lack of knowledge about the prize beforehand, adding a touch of theatrics to the spectacle.
This isn’t the first time Musk has used his immense wealth to influence the election. He has also launched a political action committee, America PAC, to mobilize and register voters in swing states. However, the real shockwaves of Musk’s involvement come from his increasingly inflammatory rhetoric. During the Harrisburg event, he claimed that if Harris were to win, it would be ‘the last election,’ a statement laced with conspiracy theories and a bleak vision for the future of the US.
The billionaire further fueled these claims by alleging that Trump has faced two assassination attempts, suggesting that the former president is a target because he is disrupting the established power structure in ways that Harris, a ‘puppet,’ would not. Musk even went as far as saying that assassinating a puppet is pointless, a statement that further highlights his inclination towards conspiracy theories.
Musk’s actions are generating significant buzz and raising eyebrows. His bold campaign tactics, fueled by a deep distrust of the Democratic candidate, are pushing the boundaries of political engagement, turning the election into a battleground for the future of the United States. The question remains, will his efforts be enough to sway voters, or will his outlandish claims backfire, further alienating undecided voters? Only time will tell how his controversial tactics will play out in the heated election race.