As Election Day nears and the 2024 presidential candidates begin to make themselves more visible to the public, billionaire Elon Musk has stepped into the forefront along with them.
After years of back-and-forth comments made towards each other, Musk has officially endorsed the former president, Donald Trump.
Musk’s influence in the Trump campaign bolstered by financial contributions and his ownership over the social media site, X, formerly known as Twitter,—could potentially be leveraged for political favors after the election.
Yahoo Finance reported that Musk has spent roughly $130 million in political donations this year. In addition to more traditional fundraising, Musk committed to giving $1 million to registered voters in swing states who signed a petition from his pro-Trump political action committee (PAC) petition.
During a Trump rally on Oct. 5, Musk said, “Free speech is essential for democracy–Trump must win to preserve it” and framed his support as part of a mission to safeguard democratic principles in the U.S.
Musk defended his choice to support Trump by saying, “America needs leaders who will challenge the establishment” on his platform X, arguing that Trump embodies this vision for change.
With his recent political activity, social media users have expressed concern over how his clear political bias may affect X.
“Platforms are only as good as the person at the podium,” Taylor Pennant Issacs, a senior journalism major and theater minor from Fort Lauderdale, Florida said when explaining that she feels like Musk uses X solely to express his own political and social ideologies.
Jasmine Woods, a senior computer information systems major with a concentration in cyber-security from the greater Philadelphia area, expressed her concerns that his notoriety may sway voters and social media users.
She believes that Musk capitalizes on the fact that a lot of people “blindly follow him because he’s rich.”
“A lot of people will see rich people and be like, ‘Oh, I need to strive to be that.’ It’s almost as if they believe that being rich somehow makes you morally superior or just more intelligent than other people,” she said.
Since Musk owns the platform, some users believe that the billionaire has been feeding them biased content to push his political agenda.
“I know that I don’t engage with any Republican content, and yet Republican content is constantly showing up on my feed. I just blocked it the other day because I couldn’t take it anymore,” Woods said.
Devon Mooring, a senior biology major, chemistry and journalism double minor from Philadelphia agreed that Musk’s influence in politics sets a bad precedent.
“I think the real issue is looking to celebrity people who are not [informed] on politics, to speak on politics to begin with,” he said.
On X, Musk attached his pro-Trump PAC, called “America” to his account and wrote “Read @America to understand why I’m supporting Trump for President,” in his bio.
In a recent article, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders expressed his fears about Musk’s role in the Trump Campaign.
“Look, Musk is a very smart, aggressive guy. He is the wealthiest person in the world, and what really interests me is, if God forbid, Trump would win, whether it would be Elon Musk running the government and Trump working for him, or the other way around,” Sanders said.
Geoff Barrett of The Guardian raised suspicions of illegality in an interview with swing state Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“I think it’s something that law enforcement could take a look at,” Shapiro said.
This uncertainty resonated with voters like Woods who urged the public to exercise discernment in the upcoming elections.
“I don’t think Elon Musk should be weighing in on the election, but he is, so I think it is very important for people to recognize who it is they look up to, and do some research on this person. Don’t just look up to someone because they’re rich,” she said.
Copy edited by Camiryn Stepteau
