You’ve likely heard of Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur extraordinaire and one of the richest men in the world. If you’re unaware of his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, you may know X (formerly Twitter), the 5th most visited site in the world.
Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022 marked a bold new chapter. Since declaring “Comedy is now legal on Twitter,” he hasn’t slowed down. Opinions about Musk are divided: to many on the American left, he’s an alt-right bigot, while to the right, he’s a reformed man and a beacon of hope. But is this really a political shift, or have both sides misunderstood him?
As with most things, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. His recent interview with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson sheds some light. In the nearly two-hour conversation posted on Peterson’s X account, they discussed Musk’s upbringing, books, AI, his business ventures, and the impact of politics on them, eventually delving into Musk’s political stance.
Let’s explore Elon Musk’s political evolution.
Setting The Record Straight on Trump
Over an hour into the interview, Jordan says “How about we talk about Trump for a minute”.
Elon denies the claim that he’s donating 45 million dollars a month to Trump. He goes on to express what he is doing in the political space.
He has set up a Political Action Committee; The American PAC. It is not hyperpartisan, his desire is a platform to “promote principles that made America” Does that sound like Trump rhetoric?
Well no, “America is already great,” he says “We want to make it greater”.
Principles That Made America Great
He discussed 2 principles he believes made America great. Meritocracy and Freedom.
Meritocracy is getting there on merit, not race, gender, nepotism e.t.c but simply because you deserve it on your skill or experience. On this, he expressed his distaste for DEI programs, “another form of racism and sexism”.
Individual freedom refers to the right of people to do or say things without government interference. Practically, this is within the boundaries of the law.
Advocating for decreased government involvement, he sites some restrictions the government has made on his business
However, more relevant for those who don’t run multi-million dollar companies is freedom of speech. America has always prided itself on this principle and Elon believes all these contributed to making America Great.
Elon Musk’s Political Shift: Make America Great(er)
Like many moderates and right-wingers in America today, he wants these values to return. “The Democratic party used to be the party of free speech” but now it appears the Republican party is more in line with all these values.
He views the Democratic party as a party of division, factoring in race and gender in hiring, suppressing freedom, and attempting to legislate even what you do with your child.
He acknowledges there are also extremists on the right (Republican party and supporters) but it’s down to America like many countries being a 2 party system. “We’re better off with the Republican party”.
Though he states he doesn’t believe in cults or entities and is voting on principle, he does like the idea of a Trump presidency, “America needs a strong leader” citing President Trump’s reaction seconds after the assassination attempt.
From Voting Democrat to Leaving California
How does a man who has voted Democrat since Obama decide to remove his business from one of the most Democratic-leaning states in America?
His decision to remove his business from California came after Governor Gavin Newson signed a transgender parental notification ban in the state of California. The bill intends to protect gay and transgender children, however, the decision to ban school staff from disclosing a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity to anyone; parents included without the child’s permission has been controversial.
“He knew it was coming”, Musk says, claiming he and the Governor had a talk where Musk voiced his resistance to the bill and stated he would take the business out of the state.
Destroying the “Wokemind Virus”
Elon Musk has supported a democratic candidate for the presidency in recent elections till now, from Obama in 2008 and 2012 to Hillary in 2016 to Biden in 2020. How is it that he not only won’t cast his vote but has a political shift to destroying the “woke mind virus”?
So far we’ve seen why he doesn’t stand with them anymore, won’t vote for them, or do business in their state but why he now seeks their downfall, is not just moral standings but personal and touching, “I lost my son”, he said.
Governor Newsom’s bill was the final straw, there were many issues leading up but after this one that hit so close to home, he had enough!
He has Transgender child who at 18 transitioned from a boy to a girl and is estranged from him.
Elon feels he was tricked because, at the time the treatments started, he didn’t know puberty blockers were sterilization drugs, the doctors weren’t clear and told him his child was likely to commit suicide if they didn’t commence with the needed treatment. What parent wouldn’t do what was advised to save their child?
Elon believes every child goes through an identity crisis, it’s normal. However, certain adults now manipulate children into believing they are the wrong gender, and will be fixed once they change to the right one. “The age of consent exists for a reason”, he says.
When he discovered it was child sterilization, he was no longer in support, his child resented that, and once the boy was legal and could give his consent, he transitioned into a girl and hasn’t had a good relationship with Elon.
This would be painful for anything and he seeks to prevent this from happening to any more children and by extension parents.
“My son is dead, killed by the woke mind virus. So I vowed to destroy the woke mind virus”.
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