Elon Musk appeared Thursday afternoon at Ridley High School in what was billed as a town-hall-style event.
Musk, the richest man in the world with a net worth approaching $300 billion, has become a major supporter of former President Donald Trump and a big donor — $75 million — to Trump’s reelection campaign.
Musk walked out on stage at about 5:15 in an understated manner and urged the roughly 900 people in attendance to register to vote, vote early, and get their family and friends to also register and vote.
Musk said he was holding the event because “you show what’s important by your actions.”
He said the fundamental values and what made America great are at stake in this election.
He painted a grim picture of cities such as Philadelphia and said Democrats won’t put criminals in prison.
“You should be able to walk the streets of the city,” he said, adding that the situation at the border is “insane.”
Musk said, “Four more years of this and we will be fully in ‘Mad Max’ mode.”
He also said freedom of speech is at stake, and that the Second Amendment protects the First Amendment.
Musk urged supporters to vote early and noted Monday is the last day to register in Pennsylvania.
Musk was also podcasting the event on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Must also owns Tesla and SpaceX and a few other companies.
One person asked how the audience could train AI to be “truth-seeking.” Musk gave a vague answer and said he is worried AI is being programmed badly.
Another person asked about mail-in voting. Musk said that as a technology person, he knows that some amount of cheating takes place and it’s been made impossible to prove.
He called for in-person voting with hand-counted ballots to prevent that.
Richard and Monica Annunziato of Aston were excited to see Musk.
“He’s got to be the smartest person on the planet, and he’s supporting the greatest president,” said Richard.
The two also had questions about mail-in voting.
“We’re talking about it,” Monica said. “He doesn’t trust it.”
“Anything electronic can be manipulated,” Richard added.
Before the event
The event wasn’t announced to the public until Musk took to his social media network.
“Currently, I have 3 talks scheduled in Pennsylvania, but will probably do half a dozen throughout the state,” Musk wrote on X early Thursday morning.
The series of town halls is hosted by America PAC, which is a pro-Trump organization founded by Musk.
At Ridley High School, numerous people were in line by early afternoon.
Linda Adams of Ridley said she is a big fan of Trump and Musk.
“I’ve never been to anything like this before … I’m interested in seeing what it’s like, it’s exciting,” she said. “It’s good to see a lot of fellow Ridley people here and support what we think is right.”
Students and staff had to leave the property by 3:30 p.m. but a group stood by the adjoining community center building next door to cheer and wave a Trump flag.
One attendee driving a Tesla was annoyed about parking for the event. You have to park on the street, a Ridley Township officer told him.
Police from across the county were on hand, as were SWAT teams.
Gregory Ctenctom of Glen Mills was in attendance and hoped to get Musk the message about a lawsuit he and Trump filed in 2020 of what he said was massive voter fraud.
He said the fraud continues today with voting machines that are not certified. A woman from Chester Springs said she wanted to hear about how to fix problems in the country.
There were a lot of smiling Ridley officials in the lobby.
Musk, who has been a vocal supporter of former Trump’s campaign over the past few months, joined Trump on stage at a rally in Butler on Oct. 5. Musk and Trump have said Musk would campaign for him throughout Pennsylvania leading up to the presidential election.
The Philadelphia suburbs have been home to several high-profile campaign events over the past few days.
On Monday, Trump hosted a town hall in Montgomery County, although he only answered five audience questions before cutting the event short after two medical emergencies in the audience.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, was in Bucks County on Wednesday for a speech focused on winning over disaffected Republicans.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has been in the area almost weekly.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star contributed to this story.
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