This week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis will launch his U.S. presidential campaign via an interview with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces. Seeing these words in the same sentence has some people playing sloppy word association, wondering if Musk might run for the position of vice president alongside DeSantis. Short answer: He can’t.
Musk is legally barred from becoming the U.S. president. Under Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution, “No Person except a natural born Citizen … shall be eligible to the Office of President.” Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa. This also bars Musk from becoming vice president, as the role would require him to step into the position of president in the event the elected president died or resigned.
As such, there’s currently no danger of Musk becoming the Vice President of the United States. Facts have never stopped rampant, unfounded social media speculation, though.
