Tesla CEO Elon Musk built on his recent shift to the Republican Party by speaking Tuesday at a GOP retreat hosted by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, according to Axios.
Attendees at the event in Wyoming included congressional leaders and big donors.
As featured speaker, Musk, the world’s richest man, shared his thoughts about both parties. His comments showed his embrace of conservative economics but a more liberal outlook on social issues.
Musk said the country would flourish if Republicans “stayed out of people’s bedrooms” and Democrats stayed “out of people’s wallets,” attendees told Axios.
He also applauded free markets and claimed that socialism was dangerous, which seemed to sit well with fellow guests, Axios reported. He added, when prompted by a guest, that the Republican Party should be more compassionate toward immigrants—that they are “vital to maintaining a dynamic economy,” Axios wrote.
It’s not the South Africa–born Musk’s first time commenting on immigration policies. Previously, he voiced disagreement with former President Donald Trump’s move to suspend foreign work visas in 2020. Many tech leaders in Silicon Valley, where foreign-born startup founders and programmers are common, also criticized Trump’s effort.
At the event Tuesday, Musk also complained about his $11 billion tax bill for selling Tesla stock, Axios reports, adding his comment garnered laughter. Musk sold $6.9 billion of his Tesla shares earlier this month as part of a broader sell off of his holdings in the electric car company.
“To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!” Musk wrote on Twitter the day of the event.
But on that same day he said he was buying Manchester United, which turned out to be a joke.
In June, Musk tweeted that he had voted for a Republican for the first time, speaking specifically about Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas, where he moved in 2020 from California. A month prior, he said he had voted Democrat because they were “(mostly) the kindness party”—but that would change.
“But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican,” he said on Twitter.
