Elon Musk and Mark Cuban are making their last-minute appeals to voters in the final push ahead of Election Day.
The two high-profile, billionaire businessmen have emerged as top campaign surrogates in the 2024 presidential election, working to sway voters in the hotly-contested race for the White House.
Cuban announced he would be hosting an event in support of Vice President Kamala Harris to rally supporters in crucial battleground states the day before Election Day.
“Join me for the largest phone banking event to finally elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States,” Cuban wrote in a post on X. “EVERYONE FOR KAMALA is happening on Election Day starting at 10 AM ET. Let’s work together to make important calls to swing states and get out the vote!”
Musk, on the other hand, announced he would be holding digital town hall on Monday night on X in support of former President Donald Trump. Later in the evening, Musk cancelled the town hall minutes after it started following some technical difficulties.
The rivalry between the billionaire entrepreneurs has escalated in recent weeks and they have often taken jabs at each other on social media.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, publicly endorsed Trump in July and quickly became one of his highest-profile supporters. Musk also launched his pro-Trump political action committee called America PAC. Trump said he would tap Musk to lead the government efficiency commission if reelected.
Musk has held town halls and appeared alongside Trump at several campaign rallies. Musk has often vocalized his support of the 45th president on his social media platform X.
“Last election, I didn’t know a single independent/swing voter who was voting for Trump,” Musk wrote on X. “This time, I don’t know anyone who isn’t. And one person after another has confided in me that they’re voting for Trump, but they’re afraid to say so publicly, because it will affect their friends/job/customers. Crushing defeat is coming for the oppressive.”
Cuban, a former “Shark Tank” investor and current minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, threw his support behind Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. Cuban claimed that Harris was “redefining” the Democrat Party and that a Harris presidency would be good for the economy and small businesses.
On the other hand, Cuban has often criticized Trump over his push to impose tariffs on foreign companies, saying it would hurt American businesses.
Both Musk and Cuban have been embroiled in separate controversies as they campaign for Trump and Harris respectively.
Musk’s one-million dollar daily swing state sweepstakes has faced a legal challenge by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner who believes that it violates state election law. However, a state judge on Monday denied Krasner’s effort to block Musk’s giveaway program.
There are two more winners left in the sweepstakes, one in Arizona and the other in Michigan.
Cuban called the sweepstakes both “innovative and desperate.”
Cuban has sparked controversy over comments he made about women who support Trump during an interview with ABC’s The View.
“Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women. Ever,” Cuban stated.
Cuban has since apologized for his comments.