In the final weeks leading up to the election, Donald Trump and his 2024 presidential campaign have enlisted the help of the richest man in the world: Elon Musk. The owner of Tesla and CEO of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk has been speaking at many of Trump’s rallies. However, Musk’s involvement in getting Trump re-elected goes beyond just rally appearances; it is a strategic play to sway the election toward Trump using Musk’s influence.
The biggest and most influential weapon Musk has toward helping Trump is X. Since Musk bought it in 2022, the platform has become much more right-leaning and pro-Trump. On his account, Musk posts right-wing content daily related to immigrants, transgender people, and more, including the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen. When Elon Musk bought the platform, he promised to keep it “politically neutral.” However, the platform now appears to be a reflection of Musk’s political views, with right-wing and pro-Trump content appearing to be favored more by the algorithm. Throughout the platform, there has been a large increase in unchecked election-related misinformation. A report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that the fact-checking feature on the platform was ineffective at fact-checking false election-related claims. Several reports have displayed that the platform boosts right-wing content and Republicans more than leftist politics. Musk stated in June that the platform “is still neutral” but he would “voice whatever opinions he has.” However, these reports say otherwise.
X is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world and is a popular source of political news. Under his control, Musk seems to have turned it into a right-wing echo chamber, where people who agree with his views are favored over those who don’t. This allows right-wing misinformation and propaganda to spread to a large audience of users, which may sway voters toward Trump. It is unclear whether Musk bought the platform specifically to use it to influence the election but the influence he has over a large social media platform is a danger to democracy.
X isn’t the only way Musk is using his influence to help Trump. Musk has also been under fire for his political action committee “America PAC” which supports Trump. On October 19th, Musk pledged that he would be giving away 1 million dollars to random individuals who have signed a petition “in support of the First and Second Amendment.” The petition was made to incentivize Republicans to register to vote. The petition would be open to individuals in the seven swing states (PA, GA, NV, AZ, MI, WI, and NC) and a random person would be given the million dollars every day until the election. In the United States, this practice could be illegal, as the law states that, someone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania called the petition “deeply concerning,” saying that “it’s something that law enforcement should take a look at.” Many legal experts consider Musk’s petition as illegal vote-buying. America PAC also is canvassing and door-knocking for Trump, however, this operation is under fire for poor working conditions. Some people who volunteered to canvas voters for America PAC reported that they were not told beforehand they were supporting Trump and were threatened to meet a canvassing quota or the PAC would not pay for their housing.
However, Musk’s role in the Trump campaign may end up not helping as much as Trump believes. X is consistently losing users, likely due to the partisan shift to the right. His giveaways in swing states are under heavy scrutiny from legal professionals. Musk has been ridiculed for his appearances at Trump’s rallies (especially for his weird obsession with jumping onstage) and calling himself “dark MAGA.” He said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally that Trump’s economic plans would cause “severe, short-term economic turmoil” and the economy would collapse before stabilizing. This creates some mixed messaging for the Trump campaign, which promises economic opportunity.
The Trump campaign is counting on Musk’s social media power to push voters toward Trump in swing states. It is a risky move, but it may be the sort of weapon Trump needs to win. No matter if Musk helps Trump’s campaign or not, one thing is certain: powerful, rich figures like Musk have more influence over our elections than we might think or like and we as a nation should be very concerned.
Junior Nicholas Carpenter is the News Editor. His email is ncarpent@fandm.edu.