Musk, of course, is a special case—documentarian Alex Gibney, whose forthcoming film focuses on the billionaire, told the Los Angeles Times that he thinks Musk believes “he might go to jail” if Democrats are elected. But the larger dynamic is true for much of the increased spending on behalf of Republicans: Tech billionaires no longer see Democrats as allies because of shared social beliefs; instead, all they care about is immunity from regulation or scrutiny—which is why they’re cozying up to the GOP.
Musk is hardly alone among tech billionaires. According to the FT, “Crypto entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss donated about $11 million. Silicon Valley tycoons Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz and their spouses have given $18 million, while OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his spouse donated $25 million.” It’s not hard to figure out what these investors expect from Republicans and fear from Democrats. They want concentrated power, and the right to continue to push cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and tech products with little oversight or regulation—even as concerns about the potential harms of AI and the data centers that power it continue to grow, and continue to alienate ordinary Americans.
Gambling and crypto interests have followed a similar pattern this cycle, although powerful companies in both fields have funded candidates from both parties. Fearing that Democrats will regulate—or perhaps even outright ban—their product as evidence of its obvious harms pile up, The New York Times reported earlier this year that gambling companies spent tens of millions in primaries supporting pro-gambling, anti-regulation candidates. Per the FT, Fairshake, a crypto super PAC, “has raised more than $99m in individual contributions—nearly all from a handful of companies and investors, including Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen/Horowitz.”