Billionaire Trump Critic Mark Cuban Congratulates Trump As Elon Musk Boasts—Before AP Calls A Winner

06 Nov 2024 by Antonio Pequeño IV · Forbes

Topline

Billionaire critic Mark Cuban congratulated Donald Trump while pro-Trump Tesla chief Elon Musk boasted about the former president as he took leads in every swing state Tuesday night—though the election has not yet been called for Trump by the Associated Press.

Musk is one of Trump's most vocal supporters. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)Getty Images

Key Facts

Musk tweeted “game, set and match” Tuesday night, and later tweeted out a photo of himself speaking with Trump at an election night party.

The billionaire also wrote, “America is a nation of builders,” and, “Soon, you will be free to build”—followed by several other pro-Trump tweets.

Fellow tech billionaire Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, said “GG,” an acronym for good game, in a similar post, to which Musk responded “yup.”

Trump won North Carolina and Georgia’s electoral votes not long after the boasts from the billionaires, the Associated Press projected, significantly increasing Trump’s odds of victory—though a group of critical swing states have yet to be called by the AP.

Cuban, a Harris supporter and critic of Musk and Trump, congratulated the Republican presidential candidate and said “you won fair and square,” also extending a congratulations to Musk.

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What To Watch For

Trump’s victories in North Carolina and Georgia boosted his odds of winning, making an electoral college victory almost assured if he wins Pennsylvania. Trump leads in all of the other swing states, including Pennsylvania, though some have outstanding ballots. Betters on Polymarket are pricing in a 99% chance of a Trump victory.

Key Background

Musk threw his support—and his money—behind Trump this summer after the Republican presidential candidate was targeted in an assassination attempt. Since then, Musk has become one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters, speaking at his rallies and stumping for the former president in multiple town halls held in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Musk provided his own Trump-supporting super PAC, America PAC, with more than $118 million in the lead-up to the election. His super PAC also gave away several $1 million checks to random swing state voters who signed a petition on America PAC’s website. The $1 million prizes were challenged in court by Philadelphia's district attorney, though a city judge declined to issue an injunction blocking the giveaways.

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