Silicon Valley inches to the right, led by Musk

Move goes against convention in citadel of affluent liberals beholden to Democrats

Since his tumultuous takeover of Twitter, Mr Elon Musk has made an unabashed turn to the right politically, defying the orthodoxy that Silicon Valley is a citadel of well-heeled liberals beholden to Democrats.

Long considered non-identifiable ideologically, Mr Musk's politics is now hardline right wing as he uses his platform (now called X) to stoke the themes cherished by Fox News, conservative talk radio and far-right movements across the West.

In just the latest example, repeating a conspiracy theory of far-right chat rooms, Mr Musk last week posted that US President Joe Biden was importing migrants for votes, laying the groundwork for "something far worse than 9/11", referring to the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

But beyond the posts, the question on everyone's mind is whether the world's second-richest person will put his weight, and wealth, behind the bid of former US president

Donald Trump to retake the White House.

The rumour mill went into overdrive when The New York Times reported that the two men met, along with other Republican donors, in Florida last week.

Trump is seriously trailing Mr Biden in raising campaign funds, even as he sailed towards the Republican nomination to be US president, and Mr Musk could singlehandedly make up the shortfall.

Mr Musk turned to X to insist that "to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US president".