Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s crew of supporters, the “Yang Gang,” appears to have a new recruit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX said via Twitter that he’s backing Yang, a tech entrepreneur battling more than 20 other Democrats for the party’s presidential nomination, because of his attitude, economic policies, and teenage music and clothing preferences.
Musk’s comment came after Yang posted a tweet saying, “I don’t expect people to agree with me on everything — that would be odd. My main hope is that people trust that I’m trying to solve problems and I’m open to different approaches — particularly if the data drives in a particular direction. Changing one’s mind is not a bad thing.”
Yang’s message was shared by Twitter user and podcaster Dan Carlin, who wrote, “How weird that this should be a somewhat novel thing to say,” to which Musk, in turn, responded.
“I support Yang,” he wrote. “He would [be] our first openly goth president. I think this is very important.” The label was one Yang himself embraced in an interview with the website Jezebel, describing his fondness for bands such as The Smiths and The Cure in the early 1990s.
I support Yang
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 10, 2019
Considered a long-shot candidate, Yang backs a universal basic income of $1,000 a month for every U.S. citizen over the age of 18.
Such a stipend is “obviously needed,” Musk said Saturday. The Tesla CEO’s support for Yang prompted a message of gratitude from the presidential hopeful, who said it “means a great deal.”
“Congrats on building the future,” Yang tweeted back.
Thank you Elon – this means a great deal. Congrats on building the future. ??
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) August 10, 2019
An avid Twitter user, Musk found himself in hot water with federal regulators last year after he said on the social media platform that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
The tweet, which described a hefty premium to Tesla’s share price at the time, wasn’t backed up by concrete financial arrangements, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. That led to a $40 million settlement with the agency, under which Musk agreed to relinquish his role as chairman of the electric car company’s board and pay $20 million in penalties.
