Elon Musk recommends voting Republican

Washington –

Just days after taking control of powerful social media giant Twitter Inc., billionaire Elon Musk on Monday recommended that voters choose the Republican candidate for Congress in Tuesday’s US midterm elections.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has been criticized by some groups for his absolutist stance on free speech. They hope his position will increase the amount of misinformation and hate speech on the platform.

his tweet on monday It’s the first time the head of a major social media platform has explicitly endorsed a US political party.

Sending a message to what he calls “independence-minded voters” on Twitter, Musk said, “By sharing power, we can curb the worst excesses of both parties. Given one thing, I recommend that you vote for the Republican Congress.”

President Joe Biden’s Democrats face an uphill battle to retain control of Congress in Tuesday’s vote.

Independent election forecasters and polls suggest that Republicans are very likely to win a majority in the House, and control of the Senate is likely to be more closely contested.

“A hardcore Democrat or Republican will never vote against you, so it’s independent voters who really decide who’s in charge!”

Musk has previously said he will vote Republican, but said he supports moderates on both sides of the aisle.

“For Twitter to be worthy of society’s trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means rocking the far right and the far left alike,” Musk said in April.

Musk frequently comments on US politics.

He has previously leaned toward endorsing Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election, saying former President Donald Trump is too old to serve again.

(Reporting by Scott Malone, Rami Ayyub, Kenneth Li, and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Howard Goller)