Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has donated nearly $475 million in support of Republicans this cycle, according to a New York Times analysis. But he has been uncharacteristically restrained in using his megaphone to talk about the actual elections themselves.
On Friday Mr. Musk laid out his most extensive rationale for his involvement to date, saying he was most concerned about the potential consequences of Democrats holding a trifecta — control of the House, Senate and White House — after the 2028 elections.
If that were to happen, Mr. Musk told his 241.5 million followers on X, the Democrats’ agenda “would result in America becoming a permanent one-party state and the end of democracy in any meaningful sense of the word.”
He continued: “All that is needed to ensure this doesn’t happen is 51 Republican senators in 2029. That is why you should vote for Republican senators this election. Other reasons are irrelevant compared to this one.”
Mr. Musk later added that he himself voted early, on Thursday in his home state of Texas. The state is home to a sharply competitive Senate race.
Another Silicon Valley billionaire who agrees that the elections matter is the Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, who was for decades a close friend of Mr. Musk’s but has turned into a political and business rival. Mr. Hoffman has donated $16.5 million to support James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, part of tens of millions of dollars he has spent on the midterms.
“We should get money out of politics,” Mr. Hoffman said himself in a separate post on X on Friday, defending some recent donations he made to support Democrats in Wisconsin. “And while others spend outrageous amounts to keep authoritarian clowns in power, those of us who believe in the ideals of America cannot yield.”
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