SpaceX's Elon Musk Endorses Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang

By Mike Wall
published

Yang's underdog campaign just got a boost.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, seen here discussing the debut launch of the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018, has voiced his support for 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, seen here discussing the debut launch of the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018, has voiced his support for 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. (Image credit: Kim Shiflett/NASA)

Andrew Yang just picked up a big endorsement for his underdog 2020 presidential bid.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk voiced his support over the weekend for Yang, a 44-year-old entrepreneur who's seeking to become the Democratic Party's candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

"I support Yang," Musk said via Twitter on Saturday (Aug. 10), in response to a tweet from Dan Carlin, the host of the popular "Hardcore History" podcast.

"He would [be] our first openly goth president. I think this is very important," Musk added in another tweet, apparently referencing a Jezebel piece from April in which Yang discussed his Smiths-loving high school years.

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Though that tweet was tongue-in-cheek, Musk's support for Yang is apparently quite serious. In another Saturday tweet, Musk said that universal basic income, a key part of Yang's platform, is "obviously needed."

Yang quickly thanked Musk for the endorsement. "Thank you Elon — this means a great deal. Congrats on building the future," the candidate tweeted on Saturday.

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While Musk is one of the world's most influential people — he runs electric-car maker Tesla in addition to SpaceX, for example — he is certainly no kingmaker. The billionaire entrepreneur backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, saying Donald Trump "is probably not the right guy" to lead the country.

Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), is out now. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook. 

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Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.