Musk backs Trump as other social media CEOs shy away from politics

The X owner, who will ‘fully endorse’ Trump, could set a new precedent for social media leaders

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 per month to a pro-Trump political action committee backed by other wealthy tech elites.