(NewsNation) — Tesla mogul Elon Musk has ardently endorsed former President Donald Trump‘s bid for the White House, a move met with criticism from social media users, media outlets and government offices.
California’s Coastal Commission voted to opt out of SpaceX’s plans to launch from the state, citing Musk’s controversial social media posts and foray into politics.
Other billionaires, like Mark Cuban and Taylor Swift, have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, with “On Balance” host Leland Vittert convinced their announcements drew less backlash.
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Taylor Lorenz, a tech and culture journalist who hosts the podcast “Power User” for Vox Media, tells NewsNation the difference in reception is likely because of Musk’s innate reach as X’s owner.
“Musk, unlike the other two, owns one of the most popular and influential social media apps. So he has a much bigger megaphone, I would say, than the other two,” she said.
Swift’s favorability among Republicans plummeted in the weeks following her endorsement, with Musk taking to X to react to her endorsement, writing: “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
The GOP nominee joined in, posting “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” just days after her endorsement.
Cuban, the “Shark Tank” investor who consistently calls out Musk for what he deems to be free speech interference on the social media platform, received mostly positive coverage of his Democratic endorsement.
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Lorenz pointed to cybersecurity scandals for tech billionaires’ upped scrutiny in recent years, adding, “[Musk] started to engage more directly with media. He used to kind of be a little bit more behind the scenes. He was a little bit more agnostic around his views.”
She also pointed to his platform’s far-right accounts and misinformation, a feature that led X to be banned in Brazil for more than a month due to free speech clashes with the country’s highest court.
Scrutiny, she told NewsNation, is something all billionaires need to face.
“I think the press has an antagonistic relationship with billionaires, which is what we want, right? We want them to be critical of all billionaires, not just Elon Musk. It would be great if the press was critical of all billionaires in the same way,” Lorenz said.
