As Tesla and Elon Musk rejoiced in the recent quarterly earnings report of his carmaking company, his growing clout not just in the political arena in the US but also the globe is something that is increasing in significance and something that cannot be ignored.
Musk's Influence
According to a report from an American publication, the richest man on earth has visited as many as 13 leaders of different countries in the past 3 years, since late 2021.
His ventures, particularly SpaceX, Tesla and now Starlink, have been major attractions for a lot of developing nations.
But in this visit, involving over a dozen leaders, one trend cannot be ignored. The trend or the pattern of Musk's rightward shift, which has only emboldened in the recent past.
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Musk's Meetings With Authoritarians
The list of leaders who are generally deemed right-wing or far-right with totalitarian tendencies includes former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who infamously left Brazil after losing power and causing an insurrection in the South American nation. Musk met Bolsanro in 2022. In addition, he met with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who according to many observers is an authoritarian.
He also met with former Hungarian president Katalin Novák, who is a part of Hungary's Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and also has authoritarian credentials.
He also had meetings with various Chinese officials, including the country's president, Xi Jinping, who is known for his total control over Chinese politics (here in this case, the entity Musk met cannot be deemed as 'Right-leaning'). He has also met with Indian PM Modi.
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Right at Home
He is also said to have been in touch with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Most recently, he met with controversial leaders with extreme policy ideas. This includes Argentine President Javier Milei and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.
These developments come at the back of developments back 'home', in the United States. Musk's proximity and influence in the US's right-wing Republican party have only been strengthened by meetings with Florida governor Ron DeSantis. His 'purge' was further completed when he finally endorsed Donald Trump for president.
Musk's rightward tilt has also seen him take on leaders internationally who are regarded as left-leaning. In this, the biggest skirmishes came to pass when Musk took on UK's Labour Party PM Keir Starmer, whom Musk sardonically called 'Two Teir Keir'.
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Then, Musk took on most of the Brazilian government under the new left-wing leader Lula Dsilva, who replaced the aforementioned Bolsonaro.
His rightward inclination comes at a time when a) there is a larger shift of politics in that direction, particularly in Europe and North America. It also cannot be ignored that growing inequality has also put the focus on the likes of Musk, who have only gotten richer and today have a net worth of USD 274 billion.