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Just days after taking control of powerful social media giant Twitter Inc, billionaire Elon Musk has recommended that voters pick Republican candidates for Congress in Tuesday's US midterm election.
Key points:
- Mr Musk has previously said he backs moderates on both sides of the aisle
- Polls suggest Republicans have a very strong chance of winning a majority in the House of Representatives
- Mr Musk frequently comments on US politics
Mr Musk, who is also Tesla CEO, has faced criticism from some groups over his absolutist stance on free speech.
They expect his position to increase the volume of misinformation and hate speech on Twitter
His tweet on Monday represented the first time the head of a major social media platform explicitly endorsed a US political party.
Mr Musk directed his Twitter message to what he called "independent-minded voters".
"Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the presidency is Democratic," he wrote.
US President Joe Biden's Democratic party faces a steep battle to retain control of Congress in Tuesday's vote.
Nonpartisan election forecasters and polls suggest Republicans have a very strong chance of winning a majority in the House of Representatives, with control of the Senate likely to be more closely fought.
"Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who's in charge!", Mr Musk added on Twitter, which he purchased late last month.
Mr Musk has previously said he would vote for Republicans but says he backs moderates on both sides of the aisle.
In April, Mr Musk said that for "Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally".
Mr Musk frequently comments on US politics.
He said previously that he was leaning towards supporting Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024 and that former president Donald Trump was too old to serve as president again.
Musk's Twitter takeover
Mr Musk's purchase of Twitter started with months of on-again-off-again commentary and legal threats.
As the new CEO and director of Twitter, Mr Musk proposed a different future for the social media platform.
Twitter has started a major round of layoffs worldwide, locking office doors and cutting off workers' access to internal systems.
An internal document said "roughly 50 per cent" of employees were affected.
Under Mr Musk, Twitter also launched a subscription service for $US7.99 ($12.40) a month that includes a blue check previously given to verified accounts.
In an update to Apple iOS devices, Twitter said users who "sign up now" can receive the blue check next to their names "just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow".
Mr Musk suggested public figures would be identified in ways other than the blue check.
The new verification system would mean $17 million a year in extra revenue for Twitter.
There are also reports of Twitter resurrecting Vine, a social short-form video app seen as a precursor to emerging social media giant TikTok.
Reuters