Elon Musk has emerged as the single largest political donor of the 2024 election cycle, contributing at least $274 million to various political groups, significantly impacting Donald Trump’s successful presidential bid, Bloomberg reports.
This surpasses the second-largest donor, investor Timothy Mellon, who contributed $197 million, primarily to Republican causes, according to OpenSecrets data.
The bulk of Musk’s contributions, totaling $238.5 million, went to America PAC, the super PAC he founded. This included a late surge of $75 million in the final weeks of the campaign, as revealed in the PAC’s latest Federal Election Commission filing.
America PAC played a crucial role in Trump’s campaign, spending $159 million to bolster the Republican effort. Trump’s campaign faced significant fundraising challenges compared to Vice President Kamala Harris, and America PAC helped bridge that gap. A significant portion of the PAC’s spending, $86 million, went towards ground game operations, such as canvassing. America PAC also funded digital advertising on platforms like Facebook and Google.
The PAC’s filings reveal $18 million in payments to individuals designated as “spokesperson consultants,” each receiving $1 million. Musk also implemented a controversial daily giveaway of $1 million to registered voters in key states who signed an online petition supporting free speech and gun rights. Smaller payments of $47 were also offered for each additional voter recruited.
The US Justice Department sent America PAC a letter expressing concern that these payments might violate federal laws prohibiting payments for voting or voter registration. Furthermore, Philadelphia’s district attorney sued Musk and America PAC in late October, alleging an “unlawful lottery,” though the suit failed to secure an injunction halting the payments.
Musk also donated $20.5 million to RBG PAC, a super PAC that ran ads attempting to link Trump to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s stance on reproductive rights.
Musk’s significant contributions mark a dramatic shift from his previous modest political donations. His increased involvement has brought him closer to Trump, with frequent visits to Mar-a-Lago and a key role on the Department of Government Efficiency advisory committee.
Musk’s substantial financial investment appears to have yielded potential benefits for some of his companies. President-elect Trump’s appointment of SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator could be advantageous for SpaceX, a major NASA partner. Additionally, Tesla’s pursuit of regulatory approval for autonomous vehicles aligns with the Transportation Department’s stated priorities under the incoming administration.
