Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated $45 million to a political action committee (PAC) working to re-elect former President Donald Trump, a significant move by the world’s richest person on the political landscape. This is the result of a study which shows that the richest person in the world 2018 in the USA 2019 in the USA 2020 in the USA 2021 in the USA 2022 in the USA 2023 in the USA 2024 in the USA 2025 in the USA 2026 in the USA 2027 in the USA 2028 in the USA 2029 in the USA 2020 in the USA 2021 in the USA 2022 in the USA 2023 in the USA 2024 in the USA 2025 in the USA 2026 in the USA 2027 in the USA 2028 in the USA 2029 in the USA 2 A Wall Street Journal reportciting people familiar with the matter.
Only days before public support of the former presidentMusk donated to America PAC, a low-profile group founded in June to fund Trump’s presidential bid, after vowing not to support either Biden or Trump in their rematch for the White House.
“To be clear, I am not donating money to any of the US presidential candidates,” Musk wrote on X March.
Nevertheless, Musk has made a political shift in recent months, accelerated by his almost uninterrupted support for Trump, which Musk an assassination attempt about the presumptive Republican nominee during a campaign rally on Saturday. As the CEO of an electric vehicle maker – the Tesla Model Y was the best-selling car in decidedly progressive California last year – it’s unclear whether Musk’s stance will clash with the political leanings of EV buyers.
Over and beyond Musk, a lot of money from the tech industry is flowing into the PAC of Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Joe Lonsdale, Palantir Technologies Co-founder, the WSJ reported.
Political change
Musk, who has donated to both Democrats and Republicans, previously described himself as an independent politician who only donates to expand his influence among politicians.
According to the nonprofit OpenSecrets, he donated about $80,639 per election cycle from 2004 to 2020. About 50.1% of that money went to Republican causes, of which 688,350 USD which went directly to the federal candidates and party committees.
“I get involved in politics as little as possible,” he said during a Vanity Fair event in 2015“I have to get involved to a certain extent, especially because SpaceX must fight Boeing and Lockheed for national security contracts and civilian space launches. If we don’t fight them, we will lose.”
Musk said he previously voted for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and current President Joe Biden, but also supported Republican House candidates in the 2022 election.
In recent years, Musk’s philosophy has shifted significantly from neutrality to a more right-wing stance. Some have cited his purchase of X – formerly Twitter – in 2022 as the beginning of his political involvement, where he gave himself a platform to advocate his frequent criticism of Biden.
“Until a few years ago, I voted 100% Democrat,” Musk said in March. “Now, in my opinion, we need a red wave, otherwise America will be finished.”