Celebrities and journalists are calling tech entrepreneur Elon Musk a hypocrite for voicing concerns about climate change and other liberal causes while also donating money to the Republican Party.
Musk plowed $38,900 last quarter into a PAC aimed at maintaining Republican control of the House, according to federal election commission data. Some in the media believe the $38,900 donation to the PAC Protect the House is evidence Musk is a closeted conservative.
Hollywood and the media were bewildered that the Tesla CEO would give money to a political party affiliated with President Donald Trump.
“Nice to know the person responsible for making electric cars is able to divorce himself from climate change by donating to the very people who deny its existence,” actress Chelsea Handler wrote on Twitter Saturday. News of the generous donation hit one of her fellow Hollywood compatriots especially hard.
“Elon noooooooooooo!! I was buying tons of shares and now I feel so betrayed!!” actor John Leguizamo wrote on social media that included a link to an article on Musk. Activists and journalists joined in on the scorn, too.
Shaun King, a Black Lives Matter activist and former writer with the New York Daily News, also voiced his displeasure with Musk’s donation, posting a link to the story on his Twitter page, adding: “Just so you know who @elonmusk really is.”
Other media hounds went even further. Nick Bilton, a senior correspondent for Vanity Fair, promised on Twitter to cancel his order for a Tesla Model 3. He later deleted the tweet and replaced it with a link to The Daily Beast’s write-up on the campaign donation.
Tricking libs into buying fossil fuel burning cars to own the libs pic.twitter.com/xLQID12GlX
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 14, 2018
Musk tried to clarify his political stance on Twitter, telling his followers in a tweet Saturday that a “nominal annual amount goes out automatically to both parties.”
He added: “To be clear, I am not a conservative. Am registered independent & politically moderate. Doesn’t mean I’m moderate about all issues.” Musk has a long history of providing large donations to both parties. (RELATED: ‘Thin-Skinned Bully’: Elon Musk Is Owning The Media And CNN Does Not Like It)
Musk gave nearly $30,000 in 2011 to the DNC Services Corp, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting the Democratic platform and funding organizational activities. The California billionaire also funneled $5,000 that same year to former President Barack Obama, according to opensecrets.org.
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