As Elon Musk studies up on how to start a third political party, among the people from whom he has sought advice is a somewhat surprising choice of consultant: right-wing blogger Curtis Yarvin, who is perhaps best known for advocating monarchism.
Yarvin is one of the most influential thinkers on the so-called tech right, where he has attracted attention for his oft-expressed distaste for traditional American democracy.
He would not seem to be a source of the kind of expertise that Musk needs as he pursues his idea for the America Party — Yarvin is not an expert on the mechanics of creating third parties or on the strategies and intricacies of running third-party campaigns.
Still, Musk and Yarvin spoke late last week about the task ahead, according to two people briefed on the conversation who insisted on anonymity to describe it. A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Yarvin declined to be interviewed.
Some of Yarvin’s friends over the years have included technology leaders like Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, and Vice President JD Vance has cited his writing.
In talking with Musk, Yarvin shared some of his political theories, the people briefed on the conversation said.
At least some of the two men’s theories have been at odds. Yarvin has called for the expansion of the use of phone apps for automated voting to increase turnout in elections and decrease the importance of candidate quality. Musk has repeated false claims of widespread problems with electronic voting machines and said that America should “only do paper ballots, hand-counted.”
Yarvin is better known for arguing provocatively that American democracy has been exhausted and that the country would be better off being run by a “CEO” — essentially, a dictator.
He has also criticized Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency on the grounds that it did not assume enough power over the federal bureaucracy.
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