Elon Musk Calls for ‘Moderate’ Third Party After Trashing Democrats, Pledging Vote to Republicans

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Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday he prefers a party “more moderate” across the board than Republicans and Democrats after making headlines for saying he could no longer support Democrats and would be voting Republican in future elections.

“A party more moderate on all issues than either Reps or Dems would be ideal,” the Tesla CEO and possible future owner of Twitter wrote.

One could argue a billionaire like Musk could put his financial weight behind an existing third party like Libertarians or the Green Party, or just create his own, and it would make at least some kind of noticeable impact, but Musk argued in a follow-up tweet that it’s not, in his view, “realistic.”

“This is what most people in America want, but unfortunately it’s not realistic,” Musk tweeted. “Generally, the party with less power (currently Republicans at national level) moves more toward center to win moderate votes, so control of House/Senate/President goes back & forth over time.”

This is what most people in America want, but unfortunately it’s not realistic.

Generally, the party with less power (currently Republicans at national level) moves more toward center to win moderate votes, so control of House/Senate/President goes back & forth over time.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2022

Musk’s statement adds more context to his pledge to vote Republican. On Wednesday, he tweeted that the Democratic Party used to be the “kindness party,” but have become a party of “division & hate.” Musk’s statement was welcomed by some Republicans as a full endorsement of the party. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), for instance, excitedly responded to the tweets by welcoming Musk to the “right side.”

At a Miami tech conference this week, Musk also talked about his plans to vote for Republicans despite “overwhelmingly” voting Democrat in the past.

“I have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, historically. Overwhelmingly. Like, I’m not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear,” he said. “Now, this election? I will.”