Elon Musk’s father, Errol, has stated that his son is secretly “dead center” on the political spectrum and that neither he nor Donald Trump are part of the far-right. The father of the Tesla CEO made the statement while appearing on The Times radio show with hosts Jane Garvey and Fi Glover.
During the interview, Errol, 78, also praised his son for being “sensible” and “smarter than anybody I have ever met.” The elder Musk also claimed that he and his son do not talk about the political state of the U.S. all the time but says that he is “doing the right thing” and tries to “support him in every way I can.”
The interview comes during the final days of the heated 2024 Presidential election where the X CEO has been campaigning heavily for Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Despite claiming his son was in the middle of the political spectrum, Musk, 53, has been spotted at numerous rallies for the former president. The tech mogul has become a very vocal supporter of Trump in recent months.
“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA, I’m dark gothic MAGA,” Musk said at the rally which was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “We’re gonna get the government off your back and out of your pocket book. The future is going to be amazing.”
“This is a real battle, this is a real election battle. So you need to get your friends and family to vote. Make sure they vote early this is important,” Musk said. “Make the margin of victory so big, that ‘you know what’ can’t happen.”
After his remarks, Musk introduced the former first lady Melania Trump, who spoke to the assembled crowd during a rare appearance. During the rally, Musk was spotted being incredibly nervous and seemed to exhibit the “eagerness of an adolescent at a rock concert,” a body language expert told The Irish Star.
During the rally, Musk was spotted holding his 4-year-old son X Æ A-Xii, which he shares with singer Grimes. In an effort to boost Trump’s campaign, It was announced that the world’s richest man had donated more than $70 million to the candidate and even created a super PAC to encourage people to vote early.
Musk, during his numerous appearances on behalf of the candidate also echoed many of Trump’s misgivings about mail-in voting saying that, in the future, mail ballots should not be accepted, calling them a strange anomaly that got popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the man also attempted to downplay the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, saying that the people who attacked the capitol were not insurrectionists adding that people who think “Trump is threat to democracy are themselves a threat to democracy.”
According to Musk, Trump did actually tell people to not be violent” but did in fact tell them to protest peacefully and patriotically, he also encouraged them to fight like hell to stop Biden from becoming the president.
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The change in rhetoric comes after Musk stated in 2016 that Trump was “not the right guy” for the presidential office as he “doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”
In recent weeks, Musk’s super PAC has come under fire from The Justice Department for allegedly breaking several election rules and even sparked a lawsuit from the Philidelphia district attorney. District Attorney Larry Krasner says the giveaway constitutes an illegal lottery that bypasses state regulations and violates consumer protection laws.
The lawsuit comes after Musk was warned by the U.S. Justice Department that the giveaway from America PAC was a violation of federal laws banning inducements to voters. Despite the severity, Musk seems to have ignored the warnings and continued to give away prizes.
To be clear, this is not a petition to vote for or register for anyone, he said in a statement on X. Its really a petition in support of the Constitution of the United States, and in particular, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. However, both the Justice Department and Krasner disagree.
“America PAC and Musk must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming Presidential Election on Nov. 5, Krasners lawsuit said in a statement. That is because America PAC and Musk hatched their illegal lottery scheme to influence voters in that election. Now that the lawsuit has been officially filed, Krasner has the opportunity to drag Musk into legal proceedings.
Krasner has since called for the Pennsylvania court to issue an injunction that would halt the giveaways while they wait for a court date. Should Musk be found to be guilty of breaking the state’s laws, he could face five years in prison.