Elon Musk praises Trump branding after first X post in years
Trump posted to the platform for the first time in over two years following the release of his mugshot
Tech billionaire Elon Musk complimented former President Trump after the Republican heavyweight posted to mainstream social media for the first time in years.
Trump made a single post to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday following the release of his mugshot by the Fulton County Jail.
"The speed at which your message on this platform can reach a vast number of people is mind-blowing," Musk wrote immediately after the president's comeback.
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The official mugshot of former President Donald Trump released by Fulton County Jail. (Fulton County Jail / Fox News)
The post on X contained a picture reading "Mug Shot - August 24, 2023. Election interference. Never Surrender! DonaldJTrump.Com."
It was Trump's first post on the platform since January 2021 and his first since it was purchased and rebranded by Musk. It reached over a million likes in under twelve hours.
Musk additionally gave curt, affirmative replies of "True" to multiple users, pointing out Trump's talent for "branding" and "elite level newsjacking."
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At the same time Trump is facing legal woes regarding the 2020 election, Musk's company is being pursued by President Biden's Department of Justice.
The DOJ on Thursday filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, accusing the company of discriminating against asylum seekers and refugees in its hiring decisions.
The DOJ alleges that SpaceX "routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)." According to the suit, SpaceX wrongly claimed that federal regulations related to export controls restricted the company to only hiring U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders.
Elon Musk, billionaire and chief executive officer of Tesla, at the Viva Tech fair in Paris, France. (Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. "Our investigation found that SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company."
Fox Business's Eric Revell and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.