Donald Trump’s landslide victory against Kamala Harris has left netizens desperate for answers. A left-wing conspiracy claiming the 2024 election was stolen has now taken social media by storm, and much like its 2020 predecessor, it’s found purchase in terrified voters online.
The theory asserts that Trump and his allies, specifically billionaire Elon Musk, harnessed their resources to secure his victory – and they’re using Trump and his supporter’s own words to back up the scandalous claim.
Trump has been claiming election fraud since his 2020 election bid, and in the months leading up to the 2024 race, his team upped the ante. On Election Day, he posted multiple messages about “CHEATING in Philadelphia” and Detroit, yet now that his team is on top the calls have gone completely silent.
His abject silence should offer the reassurance voters need to see that the simple system, which Joe Biden asserted is “honest,” “fair” and “transparent,” is functioning as it should. Instead, it’s had the opposite effect on Trump’s detractors. After literal years of banging the election fraud drum, people are certainly questioning the system — except this time they don’t back Trump.
Instead, liberals have taken up the call for election vetting. At the heart of their outcry is Elon Musk. The billionaire owner of Tesla, X, xAI, Space X, and Nueralink, to name just a few, has been integral to Trump’s reelection campaign. And while the ethics behind one of the nation’s largest military contractors getting involved in an election is already dubious, it only gets worse. Musk also owns Starlink, a high-speed broadband internet designed by his company SpaceX. The international satellite network provides internet across the globe, and conspiracy theorists assert that he used it to connect to the voting machine supply chain.
After a news clip praising the network’s speed was widely circulated, TikTokers quickly formed theories about Musk’s involvement. They pointed to a video of Joe Rogan alleging that Musk knew about Trump’s win “Four hours before the election was called.” Musk’s own rhetoric has done little to assuage the fears. During a Pennsylvania Townhall, the billionaire told the crowd, “The last thing I would do is trust a computer program because it’s just too easy to hack.” Starlink was used in multiple swing states.
The dystopian nature of the theory had users lapping it up. With grief over Harris’ defeat still so near, it’s easy for even the most grounded users to get caught up in the claims. Disenfranchised voters lamented the “proof that with enough money, you can in fact be above the law.” They’re raising alarm bells about “Dem senators winning in down ballot elections where trump won,” and about how quickly Republicans pivoted from the “stolen election” talking points once the results were in their favor.
But the theories, as much as the left wants them to be true, have little to no merit behind them. According to the Associated Press, voting machines aren’t typically connected to the internet. Instead, election results are stored on memory cards, which are typically removed before machines get web access. In an interview with ABC News, the chief technology of Clear Ballot voting systems said the machines, “absolutely cannot have any network.” He continued, “If you look at the machines from Clear Ballot, the only wire that comes out of them is a power cord.”
Dominion Voting Systems fought long and hard against claims of election interference, netting nearly $800 million from Fox News in 2023 and dismissing more than 60 additional lawsuits across the country. The recent investigations into the process haven’t stopped the spreading rumor, and Trump’s own rhetoric seems to be adding fuel to the fire. Throughout the campaign, he repeated, “We have the votes,” but his team needs to stop the Dems from stealing them.
There is little evidence that Musk or Trump stole the election, but a recount is already underway. Even with little evidence, the reach of Musk’s pocketbook can’t be denied. He spent millions of his personal fortune to encourage Republicans to register, used X’s algorithm to pinpoint voters, and started the America PAC to help fund his ideals.
Musk might not have used his companies to meddle in the election, but his influence paints a more disturbing picture. The wealthy have always been able to exert their influence over politics, but before Musk, it was from the shadows. If the richest man in the world feels safe enough to stick his fingers so brazenly in the pie without a political appointment, there’s no telling what he will do as an advisor to President Trump.