Election 2024: Elon Musk makes first appearance at Trump rally in Pennsylvania

Billionaire and technical manager Elon Musk expressed dark words about the upcoming presidential election during an appearance on Saturday Donald Trumpand called the Republican presidential nominee the only candidate “who will preserve democracy in America.”

The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, who also bought X, Musk joined Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president was survived an assassination attempt in July. He warned that “this will be the last election” if Trump doesn't win and, dressed in a black-on-black cap emblazoned with Trump's campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” appeared to acknowledge the foreboding nature of his comments.

“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA – I’m Dark MAGA,” he said.

The appearance marked the first time Musk attended one of Trump's brand rallies and represented the growing alliance between the two men in the final stretch of a closely contested presidential election. Musk founded a super PAC to support the Republican candidate, who spent heavily on turnout in the final months of the campaign. Trump has said he would tap Musk to lead Government Efficiency Commission if he wins back the White House.

Trump joined Musk in August a rare public conversation on X, an overwhelmingly friendly chat that lasted more than two hours. In it, the former president focused primarily on the July assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to cut government regulations.

Addressing a large crowd on Saturday, Musk tried to portray Trump as a champion of free speech, arguing that Democrats “take away your freedom of speech, they want to take away your right to bear arms, they want to take away your fight to vote effectively.” Musk continued to criticize California's efforts to ban voter ID requirements.

Saturday's rally took place on the same property where a gunman's bullets grazed Trump's right ear, killing his supporter. Corey Comperatore. Several other people were injured in the shooting.

Several members of Comperatore's family, as well as other participants and first responders from the July rally, returned to the site Saturday. His fellow Republican Senator from Ohio also appeared with the former president. JD VanceSon Eric TrumpDaughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trumpalong with Pennsylvania legislators and sheriffs.

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Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.