Tech
US Election: Elon Musk and Other US Tech Giants Back Trump-Vance
Cryptobros, the Winklevoss twins and Elon Musk, are backing Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Major tech titans and investors in the United States, including Palantir co-founder the Winklevoss twins and reportedly Elon Musk, are backing Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy by donating to a political committee that supports the former president of the United States.
Musk, who on Saturday expressed his support for Trump, said he would pledge $45 million (41 million euros) a month to the committee called America PAC, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The SpaceX and X chief had not yet paid any money to America PAC as of the end of June, according to quarterly financial filings with the Federal Election Commission on Monday.
It is unclear whether he made a donation to the committee in July.
The PAC has been shown to have received financial contributions from Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, who donated $1 million (€917,000) through Lonsdale Enterprises, an entity linked to him.
The documents also revealed that cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss donated $250,000 each (€230,000).
Meanwhile, Joe Craft, CEO of coal producer Alliance Resource Partners, and plaice of sandwich chain Jimmy John’s, have also donated $1 million each.
Courting Cryptocurrencies and Technology
The tech industry in California’s Silicon Valley, a Democratic stronghold, has been famously liberal. But President Joe Biden’s corporate taxes and regulations have pushed companies further to the right.
According to the Washington Post, Trump promised donors at fundraisers that he would implement policies that would work in their favor, such as cutting corporate taxes, approval of oil permitsand throwing pro-palestinian demonstrators outside the United States.
He also made a U-turn on cryptocurrency. During his term, Trump called cryptocurrency a “scam” and a “disaster waiting to happen.” But since he ran, the Republican Party has adopted a platform that supports cryptocurrency innovation.
“Republicans will end Democrats’ illegal and anti-American crackdown on cryptocurrencies and oppose the creation of a central bank digital currency,” according to the document.
“We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their digital assets and transact free from government surveillance and control.”
“Tech VC in the White House”
Trump’s pick for vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance, a former venture capitalist with investments in tech and cryptocurrency companies, could also further influence Silicon Valley.
“It’s JD Vance. We have a former tech VC in the White House. Greatest country on earth, baby,” wrote Delian Asparouhov, a partner at Peter Thiel-backed VC firm The Founders Fund.
Trump-Vance “rings with victory,” Musk echoed on his Platform X.
Vance has invested in companies such as the Christian prayer app Hollow and Anduril Industries, a Thiel-backed artificial intelligence (AI) defense firm, and said he had between $100,000 (€91,000) and $250,000 (€230,000) invested in bitcoin in 2022.