Tech billionaire Elon Musk, known for his companies SpaceX and Tesla, has come under scrutiny for his criticism of voting by mail despite having used the system himself. Records obtained by NBC News show that Musk voted by mail in California in the 2016 presidential election and the 2018 midterm election. He had a sparse voting history in California, only casting ballots in these two elections out of 18 years of eligibility. Musk became a U.S. citizen in 2002 but did not vote until 2016 at the age of 45.
Despite his own use of mail-in voting, Musk has repeatedly criticized the system as an invitation to fraud, claiming that voter ID is not required in the U.S. and that voting by mail was not allowed before the Covid-19 pandemic. These claims have been refuted by evidence and state regulations. Musk has also endorsed former President Donald Trump’s candidacy and has made misleading or false statements about election security.
Although Musk has moved to Texas and voted by absentee ballot in 2020, his public records do not indicate whom he voted for. He has expressed support for Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Despite his self-declaration as an independent voter in California, Musk has aligned himself with Trump and criticized mail-in voting practices, despite having utilized them himself.
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