Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed on Thursday that he spoke with Elon Musk about potential investments in Pennsylvania after the billionaire executive spoke at the rally held by former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Shapiro explained to NBC News that Musk was attending a Pittsburgh Steelers game with entrepreneur Thomas Tull, who called the governor to connect him with the world’s richest man.
“Thomas and Elon were at the Steelers game together and called me about some ideas that Elon Musk has about investing in Pennsylvania, creating jobs, and economic opportunity, and was pleased to hear him talk about it,” said Shapiro.
The governor twice stated that he did not discuss politics with Musk, who endorsed Trump and is funding Republicans outspent by Democrats.
“Let’s be clear, Elon Musk and I have very different political views,” said Shapiro when asked about Musk. He later added, “We obviously didn’t talk about politics.”
BREAKING: Elon Musk is looking to invest and create jobs in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed that he spoke with Elon Musk on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/41nG8B8bEQ
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) October 10, 2024
When the network asked if the governor’s discussion with Musk turned to politics, Shapiro doubled down, stating, “Not at all.”
The phone call followed a CNN panel that attributed Musk’s endorsement of Trump and support for the Republican’s presidential campaign to past slights by the Biden-Harris administration against Musk and his companies.
“I think where the Democrats started to lose Elon was actually personal,” said Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) during an appearance on “CNN Newsroom Daily.”
He told CNN, “We should have celebrated his contributions to electric vehicles, even though he was against unionization and stood up to unions,” and ultimately reflected, “A lot of it was that we didn’t celebrate it and he felt offended.”
When the panel questioned specific actions that could have driven Musk from the Democratic Party and to the Trump campaign, CNN contributor Kara Swisher pointed to a White House electric vehicles (EV) summit where Musk’s Tesla was snubbed by the Biden-Harris administration in 2021.
A CNN panel reflects on how they drove away Elon Musk.
One major thing they forgot to mention, unjust lawfare against Elon and his companies. That likely played a bigger factor than personal attacks; Elon has thick skin, but won't stand for corruption.pic.twitter.com/kFdANIXWsM
— Tesla Hype (@TeslaHype) October 9, 2024
“I got a call from him about it when he wasn’t invited to that EV Summit,” said Swisher, noting she contacted the White House and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg after Musk informed her of his concern about the lack of an invite.
She reflected, “I think the union thing was the big deal of why they didn’t invite him, and they should have. He deserves that credit.”
Though Shapiro did not clearly state that Musk’s stance on unions could be an issue so long as he is Pennsylvania’s governor, he reportedly told NBC News, “the union way of life is critically important. They helped build our middle class and they strengthen Pennsylvania, so I’m going to continue to stand with our unions.”
Other Democrats have suggested Musk is supporting Trump out of selfish motivations, namely Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who suggested the executive is backing the former president because of the tax cuts seen under Trump’s first term.
Musk endorsed Trump immediately after the former president survived an assassination attempt in Butler on July 13.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Elon Musk” by The Royal Society. CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo “Josh Shapiro” by Josh Shapiro. Background Photo “Pennsylvania Capitol” by Dough4872. CC BY-SA 4.0.
