Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022 in the name of protecting free speech. Mark Zuckerburg has often touted Facebook and its parent company Meta as “bastions” for the press; and even corporations like Exxon, the world’s biggest oil lobbyist, claim to be “champions of free speech”. What these three corporations have in common is not their false rhetoric, nor their billions of dollars, but a keen interest in politics.
Many of the companies Musk owns rely heavily on government subsidies and contracts, such as SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink. He has already started to benefit through the stock market, with his investments soaring more than $26 billion on November 6, making him worth $300 billion dollars.
During Trump’s time on the campaign trail, Musk poured over $100 million into Trump’s campaign, cheered with excitement at one of Trump’s rallies, and even had an election watch party with the former-now-president-elect as the votes were counted. The two men have forged something akin to an alliance; a quid-pro-quo dynamic in which Musk supported Trump’s election. Now, an executive-powered Trump is expected to support Musk’s growth.
With a Trump government friendly to him, Musk could continue to amass wealth and power, all while using his influence over X, formerly Twitter, to endorse his allies. Because of this, it comes at no surprise that the platform, famous for its contentious political debates, would push rhetoric that would support a Trump presidency. The concern is that as Musk pushes his own political agenda, X will suppress viewpoints that oppose his own, either intentionally or by nature of the platform becoming more partisan. The self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” has made plenty of exceptions in the past. For example, X briefly prohibited users from following Kamala Harris’ campaign account after Biden stepped down from the race. Another exception was made when the platform suppressed Indian users’ access to more than 100 accounts belonging to prominent activists, journalists, and politicians. And unlike the Biden administration, Trump has no motivation to put Musk’s overreach of the First Amendment under any regulatory scrutiny.
Like Musk, Trump’s disdain for regulation is well-known. Under his presidency, light restrictions on corporations like Musk’s that cater to his interests are likely to become the new norm. Whereas before, Musk had to face a presidency intolerant of his overreach of the First Amendment that would suppress their own viewpoints, he now has free reign not only on social media but in the government as a whole.
Protecting the speech of the American people is the most critical expectation of the executive branch, regardless of who holds the seat. But when looking at November’s election results, it’s uncertain whether the president-elect will put the voices of the American people above his own self-interests and those he is beholden to. Musk’s political pandering is sure to be a return investment for him; so long as he continues to support Trump’s agenda. He will have significant sway over both free speech and the direction of government as a whole. What this means for the millions of Americans caught in the middle of this push and pull is yet to be seen.
