Last update:06 November 2024, 6:43 p.m. IST

This new bonhomie between Tesla maker Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump didn’t exist before. There was a time when Musk told Trump to hang up his boots and sail into the sunset.

In 2024, Tesla maker Elon Musk (right) has become President-elect Donald Trump’s most influential supporter and the biggest supporter of his bid to return to the White House. (Image: AFP/File)

Elon Musk is a happy man today. Tesla shares are soaring in pre-market trading and Donald Trump – newly elected leader of the most powerful country in the world – has just declared his love for it.

“I love you,” Trump singled out his “new star” in a rousing speech as he closed in on his historic victory in Wednesday’s presidential election. And it didn’t stop there.

He called Musk a “genius” and said: “We have a new star, a star is born: Elon. » He marveled at the billionaire technocrat’s SpaceX rocket and the deployment of Starlink satellite internet service during Hurricane Helene. “He’s an incredible guy,” he said. “He’s a character, he’s a special guy, he’s a super genius.”

But this new bonhomie between the world’s richest man and the president-elect didn’t exist before.

There was a time when Musk told Trump to hang up his boots and sail into the sunset. But, in an extraordinary twist that upended an already unpredictable election, Musk became Trump’s most influential supporter and the biggest supporter of his bid to return to the White House.

From fighting the Republican’s battles on his social media platform In a likely happy ending for both men, Trump won the election with 276 electoral votes.

From being “anti-Trump” to seeing “common sense”

Musk has played a central role in America’s celebrity-driven political landscape in the run-up to the election. He has always shared a complicated relationship with politicians, but his projected disillusionment with Joe Biden’s administration has transformed him from a “moderate Democrat” to a vocal critic of the party.

The technocrat, who became an American citizen in 2002, confirmed in 2022 that he was going to vote Republican because the party he previously supported had become “the party of division and hatred”. But this announcement did not stop him from being critical of Trump.

In July 2022, he posted on social media: “I don’t hate this man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail off into the sunset.” ” He said there would be “too much drama” if Trump tried to run for the White House again, adding: “Do we really want a bull in a china shop situation every day! ? »

While he lifted the ban on Trump’s account when he bought Twitter and turned it into He said he would not vote for Biden.

However, in July 2024, the turning point finally came with the attempted assassination of Trump. Two days after the incident, Musk – who had already published a few favorable messages here and there – formally supported it.

In fact, his father Errol Musk said his son was finally showing “common sense.” He told TalkTV’s US Election 2024: “I’ve been telling him for many years that he should support Donald Trump. He didn’t listen to me. At first he was quite upset by the idea – more than upset. He was very anti-Trump a few years ago and he’s changed now… Common sense (changed his mind) He saw what was happening and he did it. “I didn’t understand before that you can’t entrust government to people who have no business knowledge… You have to have people like Trump with a business mind. Running a country is nothing else.”

A cheerleader’s dream

The first thing Elon Musk did was create the American Political Action Committee, or Super PAC, in July, with the primary goal of supporting Trump’s campaign and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. . He contributed tens of millions of dollars and distributed $1 million in gifts to registered voters in key states.

Analysts believe that Trump owes a lot to Musk. Also during his campaign, he said that if he won the White House, he would install the tech billionaire as head of a government efficiency commission to eliminate “trillions” of dollars in spending useless.

Financial powerhouse that he is, Musk has so far donated nearly $119 million to Super PAC, according to Federal Election Commission filings. His net worth is estimated at $264 billion, according to Forbes.

Musk has been very responsive regarding the election campaign and Trump’s visibility. He appeared with him at rallies and hosted a flattering interview on X, refusing to remain in the shadows like most billionaire backers.

His first joint appearance with Trump took place on October 5 in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the assassination attempt. During the rally, he gave an impassioned speech warning that “this will be the last election” if Trump does not win, saying Democrats would take over the country. Later, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, he told thousands: “I’m not just MAGA, I’m a dark goth MAGA.”

One social media platform to rule them all?

Did Musk wield great power and influence through X, formerly Twitter? Based on recent studies, this appears to be the case. It has transformed the face of the social media platform since the acquisition, with indications that visibility of right-wing content has increased while Democratic and left-wing posts have seen reduced engagement.

While this could be attributed to the exodus of users following the buyout, algorithm adjustments may also play a role. A Washington Post The analysis showed that Republican accounts post more frequently and gain more followers under Musk’s ownership.

A The Wall Street Journal The investigation found that even accounts covering only non-political topics received primarily conservative and election-related content, contradicting X’s assurances to advertisers about exposure to non-political content.

But great power is not always followed by great responsibility. At least in the case of Musk, who had no qualms about spreading disinformation through his X account which has more than 200 million followers. He successfully spread debunked conspiracy theories about Democrats attracting “illegal” voters, rigged voting machines and cheating – echoing all of his ally’s views.

A New York Times Analysis of Musk’s X messages over five days last month found that nearly a third of 171 of them contained false information or lacked context. According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, his false or misleading election claims about X have racked up nearly 1.2 billion views in just a few months.

But, all things considered, it now remains to be seen how much Musk actually stands to gain as Trump prepares for another term in the Oval Office. No business leader has done more to support his candidacy, but he could face both positives and negatives.

“He bet big here. He’s taken a deep dive in this election,” said technology analyst Daniel Ives. CNN.

(With contributions from the agency)

Location :

Washington DC, United States of America (USA)