According to filings made late Tuesday, Billionaire Elon Musk has donated almost $75 million to the political action committee he created to support Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign. The Tesla and SpaceX founder has taken an increasingly visible role in the president’s campaign, accompanying him on stage at a recent rally in Pennsylvania and frequently criticizing his opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, on social media. In a tight race with Harris for the White House, Trump has name-checked Musk at multiple rallies and promised to appoint him to a government commission tasked with slashing bureaucracy.
The latest donation by Musk, estimated to be the world’s richest man, puts him squarely in the top tier of political donors ahead of the midterm elections. His pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC, has spent nearly $72 million on voter outreach efforts over the summer and into September, making it one of the largest pro-Trump groups focused on boosting turnout among swing voters in battleground states.
During an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News this month, Musk discussed his evolution into politics. “I was always against getting involved in the political process, but after I heard what happened to Corey Comperatore, I felt like I had a responsibility to do whatever I could to help,” he said.
He added that he was incredibly moved by the story of how “a few good people made an incredible difference” in the case of Comperatore, who was killed when a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2022. “The fact that he was shot while he stood up for the principles of our country touched me,” he said.
In the past, Musk has also pumped millions into conservative causes tied to Trump allies, including an anti-immigrant group linked to former top aide Stephen Miller and a Texas district attorney who ran attack ads against an Austin-area city councilwoman who is gay and Latino. A new report from a watchdog says that his pro-Trump groups have been violating campaign finance rules in recent years by accepting contributions from anonymous sources.
