With New Role, Elon Musk’s Influence on Politics Continues to Grow

First, he made Tesla and PayPal, then he took control of Twitter, made it into X, and created SpaceX. Now he plays a massive role in politics. Where and when did it start? Elon Musk's power and social presence is massive, leaving politicians wondering what happened to turn the owner of Tesla into a political powerhouse.

To some, Musk's influence in politics seems like it came out of nowhere. The best explanation for his increase in political power is X. Once he had control over the platform he was given a space to promote much more than Tesla. Musk has had very controversial opinions from the start, but when handed the microphone, he aired those opinions and proceeded to weigh in on politics. Further supporting the idea that X is at the root of his popularity, most students know him for Tesla and X.

Freshman Ash Buckelew-Bottino said: “He's Elon Musk. I don't really know where I know him from. He’s just kind of there.”

Oliver Abola, a junior and member of the Current Events class, said, “I’ve been following his impact on politics particularly recently. But I'd known him for a while before that for X, for Tesla, even for SpaceX.”

Maya Baruch, a junior and member of the Current Events class, said, “His political influence is new to me, but I’ve always known him as: Average CEO who dominates the economy.”

More recently, Musk has been meddling with British politics. First, he went after Keir Starmer, prime minister of the United Kingdom, and went on tirades on X. Next, he endorsed Nigel Farage, another right-wing British politician intent on anti-immigration reform in the UK. In a sudden change of heart, Musk went to X and said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.” This was followed by a cheerful response from Farage just an hour later that said, “Well, this is a surprise!” Pulling support away from Nigel Farage could be a random switch in attitude or a strategic play for others to rally around him.

Another reason for Musk’s political success is his money. In the latest election, he dropped thousands of dollars on Donald Trump’s campaign, especially during a raffle in Pennsylvania that gave one million dollars to a Pennsylvanian who voted for President Trump. That kind of money helps with advertising in swing states, and can sway the course of a campaign.

School nurse Angelina Daco said, “As of November, donations to [Musk's] super P.A.C. were in excess of $70 million. When one person can and does invest that much money into one side, that money pays for advertising and pays for salaries of people in areas where they really want to sway one way or the other. And so with voter turnout and or voter hype the money that he invested most definitely made an impact within a small area of the country to move the needle from one side to another. He’s testing the waters. In ways no one said you can.”

Elon Musk is willing to push those boundaries, test the waters, and doesn't shy away from scrutiny. He doesn't care about what’s socially acceptable because if one radical idea doesn’t work, he’ll just move on to the next. There’s no exact science as to why Musk is so influential in politics other than that he’s an opinionated man with a microphone. When put on blast Musk makes his opinions known. Now that he's been put in charge of an entire governmental program, the Department of Government Efficiency--DOGE for short--his influence will only continue to rise.