Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk addressed a town hall event hosted by America PAC in support of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, last week. Attendees eagerly captured photos of Musk's speech. AFP
Over the course of four days, billionaire Elon Musk embarked on a tour of Pennsylvania, leveraging his wealth and celebrity status to bolster Republican Donald Trump's campaign for the White House in November. Musk received accolades from conservatives during his rallies while engaging in discussions about artificial intelligence, government regulation, sentient robots, and vaccines. He also made several false claims about election fraud, some of which mirrored those made by Trump over the past four years. As the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the owner of the X social media platform, Musk distributed two $1 million checks to randomly selected individuals who signed his online petition supporting US constitutional rights to freedom of speech and bear arms.
At 53, Musk has a vested interest in Trump's success. If re-elected, Trump has promised to appoint Musk as head of a government efficiency commission, a role Musk believes will help eliminate regulations he considers detrimental to the economy and a hindrance to business. During a gathering of approximately 1,500 people at a nondenominational church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk surprised the crowd by announcing a $1 million giveaway. The first recipient was John Dreher, who donned a signature red MAGA cap and exuberantly approached the stage. "I've been following you for 10 years, got your biography 10 years ago and been watching ever since," Dreher told Musk. On the following day, Musk awarded another $1 million check to Kristine Fishell, who appeared visibly stunned as her name was called and she took the stage wearing a red Trump T-shirt. "Thank you so much for... I mean I truly believe everything you're doing, truly. You don't need to be doing it, I know a lot of us feel the same way."
Musk stated that the winners were chosen randomly but must have signed his petition and be registered voters in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. His generous handouts have sparked legal inquiries. Musk has also embraced conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and has even concocted some of his own. He revived baseless theories alleging that voting machines manipulate elections—claims that have been debunked since they were used to challenge Trump's 2020 defeat. Musk mentioned Dominion Voting Systems, which last year sued Fox News for defamation over false claims of vote-rigging conspiracy. Dominion later agreed to a landmark $787 million settlement with the network. "There's always a sort of question of like, say, the Dominion voting machines. It is weird that the, you know, I think they're used in Philadelphia and in Maricopa County (Arizona), but not in a lot of other places." In a statement, Dominion highlighted inaccuracies in Musk's comments, including the fact that they don't operate in Philadelphia.
Musk also accused Democrats of orchestrating the influx of illegal migrants into battleground states. Without presenting any evidence, he alleged that Harris would legalize these migrants post-election if she wins, thereby securing Democratic majorities in those states. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Similar claims have been debunked in the past. For many attendees, the notion that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump was accepted as fact despite a lack of evidence. One attendee in Harrisburg inquired about Musk's efforts to prevent a recurrence. Musk responded by reinforcing the unfounded allegations. "I mean if the margin of victory is high enough, then I think it can exceed any sort of cheating that may take place. So we're going to aim for just a massive margin," Musk said. He encouraged people to utilize his X platform, formerly known as Twitter, to expose potential election fraud. "If people think there's a fraud, then they should post the images, post the videos, post the evidence," he said.
Musk, who holds millions of dollars in government contracts and whose companies face significant and sometimes costly government regulations, was asked if he would use a flamethrower on stacks of regulations in his new role. "I think a bonfire of nonsense regulations would be epic," Musk replied. He recounted how SpaceX was compelled to conduct a study to assess whether his rockets would harm sharks upon landing in the water. "I'm like, it's a big ocean, you know, there's a lot of sharks. It's not impossible, but it's very unlikely," Musk said. Reluctantly, they conducted the study only to be instructed to perform a similar review on potential threats to whales.
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