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Former President Donald Trump has claimed he has “no choice” but to back electric vehicles, because “Elon [Musk] endorsed me very strongly.” Trump made the remarks at a rally over the weekend before returning to his usual criticism of the industry.
The richest man in the world and the person behind some of the US’ most influential companies, Musk endorsed Trump for president after he survived an assassination attempt in July.
SIGNALS
Silicon Valley’s rightward shift shouldn’t be overstated
Musk is one of several high-profile tech leaders to endorse Trump this time around, but the apparent shift in the sector’s loyalties shouldn’t be overstated — Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans in Silicon Valley, and venture capitalists spend about twice as much on Democrat causes than they do Republican ones, Vox reported. It’s a mistake to conflate the “most vocal people on Twitter” with the feelings of the industry overall, a tech and politics expert told the BBC. However, there is a cadre of people in the industry that favor small government — and they may be betting a second Trump administration will be more hands-off on crypto and artificial intelligence, an advisor at the Foundation for American Innovation said.
EVs are highly politicized
EV sales in the US “show a partisan trend,” The Washington Post noted: 69% of Republicans surveyed by Gallup in March said they would not consider buying one, versus just 27% of Democrats. But the politicization of EVs may be becoming increasingly complex: The core Tesla customer base — liberal leaning and well-to-do — have felt increasingly alienated by Musk, and particularly following his endorsement of Trump. Meanwhile, potential customers in red-leaning states are still hostile to EVs, Semafor’s Reed Albergotti noted. It’s possibleTrump could try promoting a “working class EV” as a cheaper alternative to other forms of transportation, but Trump is avowedly against “everybody” owning one, so any proposals in that vein may be shallow.
Musk’s endorsement marks sea-change since 2016
Musk’s endorsement is “unprecedented,” but perhaps not unexpected given his embrace of other right-wing leaders, The Guardian’s tech reporter noted. Previously no fan of the former president, Musk has also undergone a kind of “midlife reinvention” from an idealistic Democrat in 2016 to a staunchly anti-progressive figure now, The New York Times noted. A former Trump administration official and GOP fundraiser who knows Musk told the Times that “[Musk] has had to walk the same road as Trump — silenced, targeted, canceled… and he’s decided it’s time to take action.” It is also possible Musk will be able to influence a second Trump administration’s policies in a way he could not with the Biden administration, much to his public frustration , an expert told Axios.