Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro delivers remarks at a bill signing event at Cheyney University, an HBCU in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, U.S., August 2, 2024.
Bastiaan Slabbers | Reuters
PHILIPSBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that he spoke with tech mogul Elon Musk on Sunday — but said politics never came up.
NBC News reported Tuesday that Musk called Shapiro while he was at the Pittsburgh Steelers-Dallas Cowboys game in Pittsburgh over the weekend. The two were connected by Thomas Tull, a Hollywood producer-turned-investor, in whose box Musk was sitting.
“Thomas and Elon were at the Steelers game together and called me about some ideas that Elon Musk has in investing in Pennsylvania, creating jobs and economic opportunity, and I was pleased to hear about it,” Shapiro said after an event in Centre County promoting Pennsylvania State Parks.
Musk, a Trump supporter who is pouring money into a pro-Trump super PAC he formed called America PAC, is on opposite sides of the political spectrum from Shapiro, a prominent backer of Vice President Kamala Harris who was once considered to be on a short list to be her running mate.
Shapiro acknowledged the political rift between him and Musk, saying, “We obviously didn’t talk about politics” on Sunday’s call.
“We focused on what I try and do every single day, which is bringing jobs and economic opportunity and growth to Pennsylvania. And I want to see more investment, especially in southwestern Pennsylvania,” he added.
Pressed about whether he has any concerns about Musk’s history of anti-union comments, Shapiro said he thinks “the union way of life is critically important. They helped build our middle class and they strengthen Pennsylvania, so I’m going to continue to stand with our unions.”
In August, after a two-hour public conversation on X between Trump and Musk, the United Auto Workers union filed federal labor charges against both men for comments they made on the platform about firing workers who threaten to strike.
The National Labor Relations Board has also twice found that Tesla violated labor laws, once in 2018, when Musk questioned in a tweet why Tesla workers would want to pay union dues, and once in 2021, when the company fired a union activist.
The call between Musk and Shapiro came less than 30 days before Election Day, as both presidential campaigns are ramping up their efforts in battleground Pennsylvania, which could be crucial to either candidate’s path to victory. Musk himself is set to campaign in the state on behalf of Trump, a fact Trump highlighted at a rally Wednesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he called Musk “fantastic.”
“He’s going to do a lot. He’s going to be involved,” Trump told supporters. “You know, he’s in Pennsylvania now campaigning, Elon Musk, because he feels so strongly.”
Shapiro has been barnstorming the state for Harris, while Musk attended a rally with Trump over the weekend in Butler, a city north of Pittsburgh that was the site of an attempt to assassinate Trump on July 13.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of X and SpaceX, has ties to the state since he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He formally endorsed Trump after the shooting in Butler.
Musk is “sort of a reclusive kind of a guy. He’s incredible. He’s a total genius,” Trump told supporters in Scranton on Wednesday. “We have to take care of our geniuses.”