Did Elon Musk Win the Election for Trump?

Donald Trump [Archival audio]: Frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond.

Leah Feiger: The win was decisive, almost shockingly so. Many of us are still figuring out the big factor that pushed the country hard to the right. Here at WIRED however, we have a theory and we’ve been reporting on him for a while. Elon Musk.

Donald Trump [Archival audio]: Who did you say?

[Archival audio]: Elon.

Donald Trump [Archival audio]: Oh, let me tell you. We have a new star. A star is born, Elon.

Leah Feiger: This is WIRED Politics Lab, a show about how tech is changing politics. I’m Leah Feiger, the Senior Politics Editor at WIRED. As we discussed on the show a few weeks ago, Elon jumped into the political conversation this cycle in a big way, endorsing Trump, joining him at rallies, and putting a lot of money behind him, over a hundred million dollars. Did his influence make the difference for Trump, and what happens now? Joining me today to talk about all of this and more is WIRED’s Director of Science, Politics and Security, Tim Marchman. Hey, Tim.

Tim Marchman: Hey, glad to be here.

Leah Feiger: Glad you’re here too. Also joining, is WIRED Senior Reporter, Vittoria Elliott. Hey, Tori.

Vittoria Elliott: Hey, Leah.

Leah Feiger: Quick check-in guys. How are you both doing?

Vittoria Elliott: I don’t know what day it is.

Tim Marchman: I really need to just go to the park and read a Victorian novel, or play shuffleboard or something.

Vittoria Elliott: That sounds great. Honestly, I wish someone would prescribe me some seaside time, like they used to.

Leah Feiger: Instead of seaside time and instead of reading a Victorian novel in the park, we should just talk about Elon Musk. Right? That also sounds incredibly fun to me.

Tim Marchman: I think we’re going to be talking about Elon Musk for the next four years. I, for one, can’t wait.

Leah Feiger: Let’s get into it. So, the big question to me, and I think to probably all of us, is did Elon Musk make this happen? Is he responsible, or at least quite responsible, very responsible, largely responsible for this Trump victory? What do you think?