Hello from Yifan in California, your #techAsia host this week. It has been an usually busy summer in Silicon Valley, partly because of the ongoing AI race between Big Tech and start-ups, but the upcoming US presidential election has also raised chaos among techies.
A group of tech heavyweights, including Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, have led the charge in tech circles to endorse Donald Trump for president. It would be a stretch to say Silicon Valley is turning Republican, as many in the traditionally liberal area are supporting the Democrat candidate and former California attorney-general, vice-president Kamala Harris.
However, it is undeniable that Musk has an unmatched audience base compared to other tech leaders. This was evidenced by the millions of people he and Trump attracted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday.