At the recently concluded Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, a string of prominent and outspoken tech billionaires threw their support behind President Donald Trump.
The undoubted main player is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and social media platform X, who has pledged to donate $45 million per month to a Trump-aligned super PAC.
Other big tech backers of Trump include venture capitalists David Sachs, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, as well as Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and former boss (at his own Silicon Valley venture capital firm) of Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance.
The wave of big tech companies publicly coming out to support President Trump and the Republican Party marks a stark departure from Silicon Valley's past political practices.
“In the 2010s, the industry was content to stay out of politics because it didn't have a big presence,” says Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University. That changed as the industry grew and faced growing political backlash from lawmakers and consumers.
By 2020, the tech industry had become a big player and primarily supported Democrats, but Zelizer said Republicans have a big influence in this election.
“To spread [the tech industry’s] “If you put money everywhere and have more bipartisanship, everyone will be on board with them,” he said.
The support for the Republican Party by people like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel comes from a strong libertarian, hands-off approach to business.
But Zelizer said even CEOs who lean Democratic on social or environmental issues might support Trump because of what he could do for their companies.
“Tax cuts, deregulation of industry and attracting finance,” he said.
Still, tech CEOs rushing to the right are unlikely to bring along more liberal employees, says Sarah Breiner of Open Secrets.
“I don't think that the average person in Silicon Valley is necessarily in the same camp as Silicon Valley's venture capitalist leaders,” she said. “When you look at the donations of people who don't even give a million dollars, they're still strongly Democrats.”
Endorsements from Musk and other high-profile CEOs could still influence a wide range of voters.
Casey Dominguez, a political scientist at the University of San Diego, recalls a key endorsement Barack Obama received in 2008.
“Oprah Winfrey is an astronomical level of celebrity,” she says, “and I don't think tech CEOs reach that level of celebrity or adoration.”
Another thing to keep in mind is that voters are also consumers who vote with their wallets.
“There's a segment of the population that is attracted to someone like Elon Musk and his product, Tesla, but doesn't really like everything else that comes with it,” said Americus Reid, a marketing professor at Wharton.
“Would someone say, 'I'm not going to buy these products because they're tainted with political views that I don't agree with'?”
Reed believes it will take more than conservative political support and donations from super PACs to make that happen.
There's a lot going on in the world, and Marketplace is here for you.
Marketplace helps you analyze world events and bring you fact-based, easy-to-understand information about how they affect you. We rely on your financial support to keep doing this.
Your donation today will power the independent journalism you trust. Help sustain Marketplace for just $5 a month so we can continue reporting on the things that matter to you.
