Elon Musk Attends GOP Retreat After Announcing Support for Both Parties

Elon Musk on Tuesday appeared at a GOP fundraising retreat in Wyoming that was hosted by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican. The Tesla CEO's appearance came on the same day he tweeted a message indicating he was centrist in his political beliefs.

"To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!" Musk, the world's richest person, wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

The fundraiser took place on the same night that Representative Liz Cheney lost the GOP primary in Wyoming. McCarthy, like former President Donald Trump, endorsed Cheney's opponent Harriet Hageman, who won the primary.

Musk spoke at the event and reportedly urged Republicans to be more compassionate. Nevertheless, social media users called out Musk for attending the retreat, noting that McCarthy seemingly does not represent the "left half" of the GOP.

One Twitter user said that Musk "being in McCarthy camp, means he is in gutless MAGA camp. McCarthy is more dangerous than MAGA. He is wishy washy and would just change tunes."

Before his Tuesday tweet, Musk had made public comments over the course of the year that pointed to his growing support of the Republican Party.

In May, Musk said during a tech summit in Miami that he plans to vote for Republicans in an upcoming election after having "voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, historically." (It was unclear if the SpaceX founder was referring to candidates in the fall midterm elections or the 2024 presidential election.)

A month later, Musk indicated he may support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis if the Republican runs for president in 2024. The possibility came up when he was asked on Twitter who he is leaning toward in the next presidential election. Musk simply wrote DeSantis' last name as his answer. In a follow-up message, he wrote that he supported businessman Andrew Yang, a Democrat, in 2020, but now he feels that "DeSantis has a better chance of winning."

Musk's tweet on Tuesday seemed to downplay the past messages about supporting Republicans, but people on Twitter are now once again aligning him with the GOP after his trip to Wyoming.

"The only folks who believe Elon Musk is a centrist are the naive members of his cult," read a message posted on Thursday. "You don't show up at a party celebrating Liz Cheney's primary loss in Wyoming unless you're a far right d**khead."

"As if anyone needed more evidence who Musk is; Musk attended a retreat in Wyoming as a personal guest of McCarthy. DO NOT BUY TESLAS! THEY ARE ANTI-DEMOCRACY! Every $ you give Tesla helps line the pockets of those trying to destroy democracy," wrote another person.

Not everyone was upset by Musk's appearance, and some people voiced their approval, including at least one other guest at the retreat.

Morgan Ortagus—who attempted to run for a congressional seat in Tennessee but was removed from the ballot by the state GOP due to her not making residency requirements—posted a selfie she took with Musk in Wyoming. Ortagus had received Trump's endorsement before she left the race.

Newsweek reached out to Musk via Tesla for comment.