Jeff Bezos has reacted to Elon Musk’s claim that the Amazon founder had advised people to sell their Tesla and SpaceX stocks because he expected Donald Trump to lose the US election. Musk, who is the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, posted on Thursday that he “just learned that at Mar-a-Lago Jeff Bezos was telling everyone Donald Trump would lose for sure, so they should sell their Tesla and SpaceX stock”. Hours later, Mr Bezos responded to the tweet, refuting the claim.
“Nope. 100% not true,” the billionaire, who also owns The Washington Post and aerospace giant Blue Origin, wrote. “Well, then, I stand corrected,” Elon Musk replied with a laughing face emoji.
Well, then, I stand corrected 😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2024
Notably, Jeff Bezos’ tweet is his first since November 6 when he broke his four-month silence on the microblogging platform to congratulate Donald Trump. “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, before this, Mr Bezos made headlines after The Washington Post decided to stop making presidential endorsements. According to Deadline, the publication had planned to endorse Kamala Harris. Mr Bezos said that the action was necessary to help restore trust in the media.
However, after facing criticism over non-endorsement, the Amazon boss explained in an op-ed article that presidential endorsements created the “perception of bias” and did not “tip the scales” of an election.
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“No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement’. None,” Mr Bezos wrote. “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” he added.
Elon Musk, on the other hand, reportedly spent more than $100 million to boost Donald Trump’s election bid. Now, Mr Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been appointed by the president-elect to lead an effort called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to remake the federal government and provide guidance for massive cuts.