Elon Musk is becoming another billionaire lapdog for Donald Trump

Tesla and X brag Elon Musk is throwing his batch successful down Donald Trump up of the US statesmanlike predetermination but the billionaire is drafting disapproval for his shady tactics

We've each seen cringe-worthy moments arsenic the hopeless sycophants successful Donald Trump's orbit autumn implicit themselves for his affection.

Who could hide lawyer Rudy Giuliani's infamous property league extracurricular Four Seasons Total Landscaping successful 2020, erstwhile helium mistakenly booked a plot centre alternatively of a luxury hotel? Or media titan Rupert Murdoch having to fork retired £600 cardinal erstwhile his Fox News flunkies defamed a voting instrumentality company? But conscionable erstwhile you deliberation it can't get worse, on comes Elon Musk.

The tech bro billionaire and X overlord appeared astatine a Trump rally successful Butler, Pennsylvania, similar a toddler connected a sweetener rush. If Trump loves thing much than himself, it's watching affluent radical grovel for his support and the world's richest antheral appeared blessed to oblige.

Seeing the latest Trump toadie connected signifier jumping up and down whitethorn person been a astonishment for immoderate Americans, but X (formerly Twitter) users knew what to expect. His descent into the conspiracy mentation satellite has been good documented. Now, he's throwing £188 cardinal into his quest to signifier adjacent month's election.

Musk went connected to denote a $47 (£38) referral bonus that the billionaire's governmental enactment committee (PAC) is offering to the nationalist for each registered swing-state voter, they notation to an online petition that collects interaction accusation of voters who are "in favour of escaped code and the close to carnivore arms".

On the surface, it sounds similar immoderate amusive pouch wealth for locals. Musk claims it's each successful the sanction of escaped code and weapon rights, but critics assertion it is truly astir harvesting idiosyncratic elector data. Think of it arsenic 1 of the astir blase data-mining operations ever disguised arsenic democracy-building. "Easy money," Musk bragged connected X.

Easy, sure, but astatine what cost? Musk is banking connected astatine slightest a cardinal radical handing implicit their idiosyncratic information. The existent prize? Swing authorities voters wherever Trump's Democratic rival Kamala Harris is either narrowly trailing oregon leading.

However, the question everyone should inquire is what volition Musk bash with the data? Given his behaviour, it's not hard to conjecture - people it with a flood of conspiracy-laden misinformation. This isn't theoretical, either.

Authorities successful Michigan and North Carolina are already investigating Musk's PAC. And if that wasn't enough, his desperation to enactment Trump backmost successful powerfulness became wide erstwhile helium confessed to writer Tucker Carlson that if his antheral loses, he's "f****d". His nonstop words, not mine. "How agelong bash you deliberation my situation condemnation volition be?" helium quipped. Yes, the antheral who dreams of colonising Mars is terrified of what a Harris presidency could mean for him.

Musk mightiness fancy himself a digital-age revolutionary, but successful reality, he's conscionable Trump's latest billionaire lapdog. And if this each feels similar déjà vu, you're not wrong. In Trump's world, the puppets change, but the amusement stays the same.