Elon Musk rejects 'far-right' label, says Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton once backed similar views

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Elon Musk pushed back against being labeled "far-right" during a wide-ranging interview with The Economist, published on Thursday, July 23, arguing that positions such as secure borders, safe cities and responsible government spending were once accepted across the political spectrum.

The billionaire entrepreneur also claimed that speeches delivered years ago by former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would today be mistaken for remarks made by President Donald Trump.

Elon Musk says today's political labels no longer reflect mainstream policy positions

During the interview, Musk questioned why certain policy positions are now viewed as extreme.

"Here are the principles and tell me which of these sound terrible: that we should have secure borders, that we should have safe cities, that we should have sensible spending," he said. "Which of those three are far-right fringe?"

Musk then criticized media portrayals of the political right, saying he believed the label has been applied too broadly. 

"And I would like to just admonish you and the media for the absurd characterization of the far right," he said. "It is false and misleading and nonsense. Please keep this part in. We'll keep all of this in. Don't cut this part."

According to Musk, the same ideas would have been viewed as ordinary political positions only a decade or so ago.

"Literally, you could go back 10 or 15 years, and these policies were completely normal," he said.

Elon Musk compares Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's past speeches to Donald Trump's rhetoric

Musk went on to argue that the political conversation has shifted so dramatically that earlier speeches from leading Democrats could now be mistaken for Trump's.

"In fact, one of the tricks that I think is funny is to take a speech from Obama and Hillary, and then go to someone who's on the lunatic left, and say, 'what do you think of the speech by Trump?'" he said. "They're like, 'Oh, wow, he's the worst person ever.' Actually, that was the speech by Obama! Or Hillary!"

Elon Musk reflects on his political role during Donald Trump's administration

Elsewhere in the interview, Musk acknowledged that he had become deeply involved in politics during his alliance with Trump.

Reflecting on that period, he admitted, "I got carried away, frankly."

Musk had backed Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and later served in a government role overseeing spending reductions. Looking back, he suggested he might have made different choices.

"I think instead of doing Doge, I would have basically worked on my companies," he said, referring to an earlier podcast interview.

Even so, Musk indicated he still believes his political involvement had a lasting impact.