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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Nick Robins-Early

Musk’s full-throated backing of Trump is uncharted territory for a tech boss

A man wearing a dark jacket looks off to the side
Elon Musk looks on during the Milken Institute conference in Beverly Hills, California, on 6 May 2024. Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters

Minutes after Donald Trump announced that he had selected JD Vance as his running mate, Elon Musk rushed to endorse the two Republican candidates to his 190 million followers on the social network that he owns. The tech billionaire proclaimed on X, formerly Twitter, that the ticket “resounds with victory”.

Since the assassination attempt on Trump this past weekend, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has thrown his support behind the Republican party and positioned himself as the herald of Silicon Valley’s shift rightward. He wrote on X the day of Trump’s near-fatal shooting: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery” and called on others in the industry to join him. Musk, in contention for the title of the world’s richest man, will reportedly pledge $45m a month to a pro-Trump political action committee backed by other wealthy tech elites.

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