Elon Musk Says He’s Voting Republican Because Democrats Are ‘Overly Controlled By Unions’

Elon Musk has been stirring up headlines for weeks recently. While his turbulent deal to acquire Twitter is currently on hold, Musk just couldn’t stand not being the center of attention for a day and announced yesterday that he would be voting Republican in the upcoming midterm elections this year.

Musk has been leaning more conservative in recent years, and his statements during the Twitter deal about wanting to preserve free speech sound very much in step with current right-wing thinking and messaging, from politicians to Fox News commentators.

And while he might be concerned about his free speech, the biggest breaking point for Musk in deciding to vote Republican is the Dem’s current attitude towards labor unions. In the interview with Financial Times, Musk said he is “neither a Republican or Democrat,” but he decided to vote Republican this year because “The Democratic Party is overly controlled by the unions and by the trial lawyers, particularly the class-action lawyers.”

He also called labor unions, “not in the interest of the people,” and then hilariously attempted to brand them as, “just another form of monopoly.” He did acknowledge “not ideal” aspects of the Republican Party like “corporate evil and religious zealotry,” which apparently seems better to him than the truly horrifying concept of… workers forming a union.

Musk has been known for his anti-union stances, and the National Labor Relations Board found evidence of threatening workers, and in one case even illegally firing one who was found to be involved in union organizing. He also opposes a billionaire’s tax.

Biden said on the campaign trail he would be the “most pro-Union President,” and he certainly has pushed the Democratic party into a more pro-labor stance than it once had. Jennifer Abruzzo, Biden’s pick for the general counsel of the NLRB has bolstered the board after it had been languishing during the Trump presidency.

The President also just invited union leaders to the White House who has been driving unionizing efforts at massive companies like Amazon and Starbucks. Christian Smalls, President of the first Amazon Labor Union, tweeted humorously that billionaires are shaking in their boots after his White House visit. “Keep organizing people Elon you next be afraid be very afraid the Unions are coming,” Smalls wrote.