“Let me tell you: we have a new star. A star is born: Elon!” To the cries of a delirious crowd, during his victory speech, Donald Trump paid a particularly strong tribute to billionaire Elon Musk. There is no end to the compliments and superlatives regarding his actions. “He’s an incredible man”, “he saved a lot of lives”, “he’s a super genius”. The newly elected president went so far as to tell the businessman that “no one else” could do what he did, and that's why he “loved him.”
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It must be said that Donald Trump owes a lot to Elon Musk. While the richest man in the world had until then barely been involved in politics, the 2024 election was a turning point. Elon Musk has become a vocal supporter of the former president. Creation of the America political action committee, establishment of a lottery of one million dollars per day for the signatories of a pro-Trump petition… In all, Elon Musk donated 120 million dollars to the campaign of the Republican candidate. So many assets that helped Donald Trump find his way back to the White House.
Elon Musk, more than a Republican campaign financier
But more than a financier, Elon Musk served as a spokesperson for Donald Trump. “It regularly disseminated on a very large scale, via its Since his purchase of the platform in October 2022, the billionaire has also worked to unravel moderation policies, while ensuring that he amplifies the reach of his own messages. As a result, “his attacks on the opposing camp, including conspiracy theories on divisive subjects, such as immigration, generated a lot of engagement online.”
Elon Musk thus relayed to his 203 million subscribers on According to Iris Boyer, he also used the data collected on the platform to target new audiences, “an undeniable asset for the Trump camp, which will still have strong repercussions after the campaign”. But summarizing a campaign to the audience of a platform now acquired by the Republican camp would be simplistic, judges the researcher.
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The billionaire mainly took part in campaign events, helping to reach a part of the population that was not won over to the former president. By appearing all smiles and full of energy alongside the Republican, “he became Trump's number 2 and replaced JD Vance on the podiums and in the photos, estimates Romuald Sciora, specialist in the United States and associate researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations. Which specifies: “because it gives a cool and modern impression, it offered Donald Trump a trendy, rock and roll and progressive image”.
A real makeover for the candidate, aged 78. This very positive representation is notably due to what Elon Musk represents: the conquest of space. “Since the 1990s, American ambitions in space had almost fallen into oblivion, but this dream is still present in the collective American imagination, and Elon Musk is the incarnation. He is the man who will colonize Mars”, summarizes Romuald Sciora. These latest successes with the Starship rocket, whose impressive images have traveled the world, clearly illustrate the enthusiasm that space advances arouse.
Another aspect of Elon Musk's personality plays in Donald Trump's favor: his profile as a billionaire “genius”, says Iris Boyer, who embodies the American dream so dear to conservatives. Elon Musk's support for the Republican candidate was all the more publicized as the billionaire had announced that he had voted for the Democratic camp in the past.
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Finally, “Elon Musk helped free Trumpist speech in circles previously considered democratic,” continues Romuald Sciora. Firstly in tech. While Silicon Valley has long been seen as a progressive and left-wing bastion, big bosses increasingly appreciate Donald Trump's speech. “They were shocked by the regulatory measures put in place by the Democrats on artificial intelligence. They saw it as an attack on freedom of enterprise and freedom of expression.” Not to mention the increased taxation on certain businesses initiated by the Democratic administration. When Donald Trump declared himself the winner of the election, the owner of
If Elon Musk's impact on the presidential campaign is undeniable, has he definitely tipped the scales in favor of Donald Trump? “We do not have enough perspective to determine whether these phenomena could have tipped the campaign,” says Iris Boyer. “Truth be told, we may never have enough, given the lack of access to data for platform research, and the difficulty in correlating awareness of propaganda content with conversion in the ballot. One thing is certain: the duo formed by Elon Musk and Donald Trump has never been so close and so powerful.
