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".
This story is from the March 11, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 11, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
VICTORIA'S GOLDEN GOALKEEPER
Deyveekan put off ACL surgery, then puts down RI with 3 shoot-out saves
After 3rd over 1,200m and 2nd over 400m, Burridge’s 3YO aims for Ist in Guineas mile
Trainer Steven Burridge's quest for that elusive three-year-old feature win will come down to one last bullet in the $150,000 Group 2 Singapore Guineas (1,600m) on May 18.
Indonesian group eyes big boost from buying Shell's assets
Chandra Asri expects as much as $13.5b in annual revenue from refining site
US govt says it can prosecute Boeing over 737 Max crashes
The US Justice Department on May 14 said Boeing can be prosecuted for two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people approximately five years ago.
Seatrium shares slide on news of removal from MSCI index
Seatrium's strategy to raise the investment profile of the company via a share consolidation received a blow on May 15 when the stock fell sharply following its removal from the closely watched MSCI index.
Huawel takes on Apple with more China flagship stores
Aggressive move to retake crown for premium electronics as it rebounds from US sanctions
At least 10 cars slide and crash at Funan mall's carpark ramp
Mall says incident under probe; affected drivers given assistance
Man's jail term upped for downloading child sex abuse material
Indonesian’s jail time increased from 6 weeks to eight months after appeal by prosecution
Sales of new private homes slump to 4-year low in April
Lack of major new launches, buyers’ fatigue and high interest rates among the factors
Survey finds only 15% here aware of net-zero emissions target
But two-thirds of respondents keen to contribute when told about country’s goal