Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he will vote Republican during the next election cycle.
Musk announced his transition of political support on Twitter on Wednesday.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Musk wrote. “But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold ... ”
The Republican National Committee congratulated Musk on the decision on Twitter.
“Welcome to the party,” the GOP account said.
Prior to his announcement, Musk told his nearly 100 million Twitter followers that he believed political attacks against him would “escalate dramatically in coming months”.
Musk affirmed his new political affiliation a day earlier while speaking at a tech industry networking event in Miami on Monday.
During that event, which was recorded for the “All-In” podcast, Musk claimed that Twitter had a liberal bias.
“The reality is that Twitter at this point, you know, has a very far left bias,” Musk said. “I would classify myself as a moderate, neither Republican nor Democrat.”
“I have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, historically,” he continued. “Like I’m not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear,” he said. “Now this election I will.”
The billionaire entrepreneur recently attempted to buy Twitter in April, but the blockbuster deal is currently on hold over Musk’s concern about bot and spam accounts on the platform.