Refer Report
Ahead of the presidential election, a public war of words is taking place among Silicon Valley giants over their support for a candidate. It is a rare sight in Silicon Valley, which has long been classified as a Democratic stronghold. It is being evaluated as symbolizing the trend of a group of engineers who oppose new technology regulations being recruited as allies of the Republican Party.
At the forefront is Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who publicly supported former Republican candidate Donald Trump. After the attempted assassination of Trump in July, Elon publicly supported him. On the 25th of last month (local time), when venture capitalist Vinod Khosla criticized former President Trump, he wrote on his X account, “Please stop doing crazy things to Trump.” He has also been posting critical posts about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris every day. Elon, who had been distancing himself from former President Trump, began to distance himself from the Democratic administration when Tesla was neglected during the Joe Biden presidency. It appears that his personal history with his transgender daughter, who cut ties with him, also had an impact.
Green technology investors are expressing a sense of betrayal over Elon’s support for Trump, who has set Tesla’s mission as a “transition to sustainable energy.” They are particularly angry that Elon did not object when Trump dismissed environmental issues in a long interview with Elon at X (“The biggest threat is not global warming, it’s ‘nuclear warming'”), calling it a “betrayal of the cause.” Josh Pelser, who is famous for investing in climate change-related startups, wrote on LinkedIn last month, “I wonder what it will be like to see my former colleagues and friends join the Trump cabal. Our relationship will be forever changed, and history will never look kindly on them.”
David Sacks, former PayPal COO, is also a vocal Trump supporter. Sacks even gave a speech endorsing Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Their support for Trump could also be seen as emblematic of a growing trend among tech investors who favor broad deregulation to join the Republican Party as a new ally.
In fact, their preparations seem to have begun a long time ago. Reuters According to recent reports, a group of tech investors founded the Rockbridge Network with 2019 Republican vice presidential candidate Jaydee Vance. The network has provided significant funding to right-wing news groups and right-wing voter registration drives. Reuters said, “The massive support of the tech investor group to Rockbridge is a sign of Silicon Valley’s growing influence in conservative politics.”
Reporter Kim Won-cheol wonchul@hani.co.kr
Source: Korean