Elon Musk does not hide it: He will wield his media influence and financial power in the midterm elections in November and the race for the White House leading to November 2024.
Tesla’s charismatic and whimsical chief executive has more than 103.3 million Twitter followers, giving him a massive platform and megaphone to sway public opinion and influence potential voters.
Musk has also pledged to personally spend $20 million to $25 million to support his favorite candidate in the presidential election.
The serial entrepreneur’s fortune is estimated at $268 billion as of Aug. 15, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is thus the only person whose fortune exceeds $200 billion. The net worth of Jeff Bezos, the world’s second richest man, is estimated at $167 billion in the same benchmark.
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With these two powerful weapons — money and charisma — Musk has become increasingly political. But he also risks alienating buyers and would-be buyers of Tesla vehicles, who often live in and around major Democratic-Party-leaning cities.
Indeed, the mogul recently let on that he will vote Republican in November, and he predicted a red wave in the midterm elections.
Read more: The Street
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