Multi-billionaire Elon Musk said he would vote Republican in the upcoming election, despite voting for Democrats in the past, which raised concerns on how he would uphold freedom of speech if he takes over Twitter.
The Tesla CEO and founder said it via video link at a Miami tech conference on Monday, when he expressed his thoughts on Twitter and free speech, with several other subjects, as per Business Insider.
Musk remarked in the conference that "the reality" at this point is Twitter has "a very far-left bias." He added that he is "neither Republican nor Democrat," and he classifies himself as a "moderate."
Though "historically" he "voted overwhelmingly" for Democrats, he plans to vote for a Republican this election.
"Like I'm not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear," he said. "Now this election I will."
While Musk did not clarify whether he was talking about the November midterm elections or the 2024 presidential race, the crowd and panelists responded strongly to his remarks.
Musk further stated that his $44 billion purchase of Twitter will not be "some right-wing takeover as some on the left may worry," but rather a "moderate wing takeover."
The billionaire stated that his planned redesign of the social media platform would "try to ensure that people of different political ideas feel welcome on a digital town square," where they may freely express themselves "without fear of being banned or shadow-banned."
Musk also discussed the value of free speech, which he describes as being practiced when "someone you don't like is saying something you don't like."
"That's when it actually matters," the tech business magnate noted.
Free Speech on Twitter Under Musk's Leadership
There has been a lot of debate about how Musk would deal with Twitter's free speech regulations.
Some Republicans thought the acquisition would allow Twitter to restore former President Donald Trump's account, which was permanently banned in January 2021 for posing a "risk of further incitement of violence," according to the company.
Musk called Twitter's previous decision "foolish to the extreme" and announced on May 11 that he would overturn Trump's Twitter ban.
Members of US President Joe Biden's inner circle and party strategists are concerned that under Musk's management, misinformation could proliferate on Twitter before the 2024 presidential race, which might be a rematch between Biden and Trump, as per a report from CNBC.
Mary Anne Marsh, an experienced Democratic strategist, said that Trump "will use Twitter to do far more damage to regain power in 2022 and 2024," while Musk seems to have no plans of stopping him.
Trump Said He Won't Return To Twitter
Trump said before that he will not return to Twitter and will be staying on Truth Social, according to a report from The Guardian. However, he reportedly was dissatisfied with the performance of his new platform, which was launched in February. Hence, it is more likely to need Twitter to gain the spotlight that he enjoyed before with his more than 88 million followers.
According to the Daily Beast, Truth Social had 513,000 daily active users, far below Twitter's daily active users of around 217 million.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said that if Trump wants "to intervene on behalf of a candidate" he endorsed for the midterm elections, it is essential for him "to reach people who are likely to vote as a result of getting a signal from him."
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