Elon Musk’s Presidential Endorsement and the Response of Joe Biden
A Shift in Dynamics: Biden Campaigns Against Musk’s Involvement
In a surprising turn of events, President Joe Biden has started directly campaigning against Elon Musk’s involvement in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. This move comes after Musk officially endorsed Trump and is reportedly financially backing his bid for the presidency.
Biden’s reaction to Musk’s endorsement was swift and pointed. On Wednesday, he wrote on Musk’s social media site X: "’I’m sick" before revealing a bait-and-switch in the next post: ‘of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election.’" This statement was followed by a fundraising text sent out by Biden’s campaign, accusing Musk of "using his fortune to try to control our democracy."
A Notable Escalation
Biden centering Musk in his campaign is a notable escalation, considering he spent most of his presidency seemingly pretending the billionaire didn’t exist. One example of this was during an ‘EV Summit’ held in 2021, where Tesla wasn’t invited. Another instance was when Biden said that Detroit — not Tesla — was "leading the world in electric vehicles."
Campaigning against Musk’s involvement is a gamble given the billionaire’s sway over Silicon Valley and the tech industry as a whole. Several of Silicon Valley’s richest individuals are backing the super PAC that Musk is reportedly contributing to, including Sequoia Capital partners Shaun Maguire and Doug Leone. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have also announced they will financially support Trump’s campaign largely due to his stance on crypto, AI, and Biden’s proposal to tax unrealized capital gains.
Musk confidant David Sacks has been leading the charge to drum up even more support for Trump, not just on X but also in the real world. He spoke onstage this week at the Republican National Convention.
The Reasons Behind Biden’s Campaigning
Whether Biden slighted Musk because of his anti-union stance or his embrace of far-right policies almost doesn’t matter. Being ignored clearly bothered Musk — he brought it up a lot. Musk interacted with the Trump administration in a few ways, including serving on his economic advisory council, but he had never outright supported him as a candidate.
Meanwhile, Musk has benefited materially from and during Biden’s presidency. The Inflation Reduction Act set Tesla (and its battery partner Panasonic) up to $41 billion in credits by 2032. Tesla hit its highest valuation ever in 2021 amid the broader wave of EV optimism (and after Hertz promised a large bulk purchase of Musk’s cars). SpaceX and its satellite business Starlink has been a repeat winner of defense and other government contracts.
However, his companies are also facing multiple federal investigations, some of which started during Biden’s presidency. He’s clearly more ideologically aligned with Trump, and there are reasons to believe his companies would continue to benefit from another Trump presidency.
The Financial Impact
Biden embracing anti-Musk rhetoric as a result is already helping him financially: On Thursday afternoon, Biden campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg wrote on X that the post calling out ‘Musk and his rich buddies’ was "the second best raising social post" for the campaign in more than a year.
The Implications
Biden’s decision to center Musk in his campaign is a significant development in the presidential election. Given Musk’s sway over Silicon Valley and the tech industry, it remains to be seen how this will play out in the coming weeks.
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