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".
Esta historia es de la edición March 11, 2024 de The Straits Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 11, 2024 de The Straits Times.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Pritam Singh's trial over alleged lies to Parliament slated to start in Oct
The trial of opposition leader and Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh is slated for October and November, court records on May 31 show.
S'pore units of Shell, ExxonMobil among 9 firms critical to national security under new law
Singapore issued a list of nine companies that will need to seek government approval for changes in their ownership or leadership, among other things, as they are deemed critical to national security interests.
Ingebrigtsen dives to dramatic 1,500m win
Jakob Ingebrigtsen ensured a raucous end to a thrilling Diamond League meet in front of his home fans in Oslo by hurling himself over the line to snatch victory in the men's 1,500m in 3min 29.74sec on May 30.
PATIENCE THE DIFFERENCE
Loh blows early leads in both sets to lose a frustrating quarter-final to Li
RAGING RUBLEV IMPLODES IN PARIS
World No. 6 is the highest men’s seed to exit Roland Garros after loss to Italian Arnaldi
ANIKI, A LATE SILVER BULLET FOR 70YO KHOO
From forlorn hope at netting elusive feature win, veteran trainer suddenly gets a shot
Ringgit overcomes slow start in 2024 as inflows rise
The Malaysian ringgit has raced ahead of all its Asian peers in the past three months and, if market watchers are right, the move is set to gain traction.
US economy grows less than estimated in Ql as consumer spending cools
The US economy grew less than initially estimated in the first quarter of 2024 as consumer spending cooled, the government reported on May 30.
Over half of S'pore CEOs have pushed sustainability down in their to-do list: Poll
Decarbonisation has taken a back seat among corporate leaders in Singapore, a quarterly survey by EY has found.
Govts, people must join hands to fight deepfakes: Panellists
They need to share and learn from one another; technology not the silver bullet