Elon Musk is getting back into politics — and this time, he is endorsing a Democrat.
The Tesla, SpaceX, and X boss on Monday officially supported Andrew Cuomo becoming the next mayor of New York City. Musk also urged his followers, in an X post, to not vote for Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, insisting a vote for Sliwa was “really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is” — referring to Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who is leading in the polls.
“VOTE CUOMO!” Musk exclaimed on X.
Musk backing Cuomo stands out for a few reasons. First, the obvious one — he was President Donald Trump’s biggest supporter during the 2024 presidential race, and he later joined Trump in the White House for a few months, where he ran the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk also backed other Republican candidates and made it clear he was not a fan of many “woke” policies pushed by lefty politicians.
And more recently, Musk defended Trump on Joe Rogan’s podcast last week, saying the president was “not evil.”
It also stands out, considering Musk and Cuomo were on opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to COVID-19. Musk was highly critical of the restrictions put in place by Democratic leaders like Cuomo; the former New York governor was also criticized for his decision to admit seniors with COVID-19 to nursing homes, and his administration “misled the public” by sharing incorrect COVID data, the New York State Health Department claimed.
Musk may be siding against Mamdani simply because he is not a fan of socialism or communism. The Tesla CEO has said it is worth comparing Korea and Germany’s economies under socialism and under more pro-capitalist governments to see why capitalism is superior.
Mamdani, meanwhile, was flanked by fellow socialist Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on the campaign trail recently when Sanders said he and Mamdani will not “allow” Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire.
Musk’s endorsement of Cuomo came right as a new Atlas poll showed Cuomo would beat Mamdani in a head-to-head matchup if Sliwa exited the race at the last minute — although he would remain on the ballot.
