Billionaire Elon Musk warned in an interview that the policies of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, would cause a major decline in living standards.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, appeared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" and acknowledged that Mamdani is the frontrunner in the mayoral race but said that his agenda, if implemented, would hurt New Yorkers' quality of life.
"Mamdani is a charismatic swindler," Musk said. "I mean you gotta hand it to him, like, he can light up a stage, but he has just been a swindler his entire life."
"If Mamdani's policies are put into place, especially at scale, it would be a catastrophic decline in living standards, not just for the rich, but for everyone. As has been the case with every socialist experiment," Musk added.
Mamdani, who is currently a member of the New York State Assembly, has campaigned on implementing a range of socialist policies if he wins the New York City mayoral race.
His platform calls for raising New York City's minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030, along with raising the corporate tax rate to match New Jersey's 11.5% rate. Mamdani has also called for eliminating bus fares and creating a universal childcare policy.
