Elon Musk spent greater than 1 / 4 of one billion greenbacks to again President-elect Donald Trump and alternative Republican applicants, marketing campaign finance data filed Thursday display.
The sum makes Musk, the sector’s richest particular person, the most important donor within the 2024 election cycle to both celebration, Federal Election Fee filings display.
The majority of Musk’s spending was once thru his personal The united states PAC, to which he contributed $239 million. However filings additionally confirmed that Musk was once additionally at the back of a political motion committee the usage of the past due Ideal Court docket Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s namesake — “RBG PAC” — in ads with deceptive claims that Ginsburg held perspectives on abortion that have been related to Trump’s.
Ginsburg’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, informed The New York Times in October that the PAC was once an “affront to her grandmother’s legacy,” and it was once “nothing short of appalling” that Ginsburg’s title was once being worn to assistance Trump’s reelection marketing campaign. Ginsburg overtly supported abortion rights, while Trump put 3 conservative justices at the Ideal Court docket who have been a part of the bulk opinion within the case putting i’m sick the federal proper to an abortion.
Musk put $20.5 million into the PAC, the one contribution it won. The gang ran ads emphasizing Trump’s statements that he would veto a countrywide abortion block if elected, and pointing to Ginsburg’s statements that the verdict in Roe v. Wade went too far.
Musk additionally donated $10 million to the Senate Management Treasure, which helps Republican Senate applicants, and $3 million to the MAHA Alliance PAC, a bunch affiliated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” message.
During the The united states PAC, his primary marketing campaign car, Musk and a handful of alternative donors funded a get-out-the-vote try thru door-knocking, texting, telephone screams, mailers and ads.
Through some distance, The united states PAC’s greatest expense was once a $40.5 million cost to United States of The united states, Inc, an organization registered latter date with an deal with related to Musk. It’s vague how precisely the ones price range have been worn.
In October, Musk additionally pledged to present away $1 million a pace to a registered voter in Pennsylvania who signed his petition. The sweepstakes have been challenged in court, however a pass judgement on dominated that they might progress. Musk’s legal professionals stated the winners weren’t selected through prospect, however rather in keeping with their private tales, and the price range have been a part of a agreement they signed to develop into spokespeople for his The united states PAC. Musk is now dealing with a couple of complaints from individuals who declare it was once falsely billed as a lottery.
He rose as a significant political donor impulsively. In March, he posted on X, the social media platform Musk owns, that he would no longer donate to both presidential candidate. And next on July 3, he made his first contribution of $5 million to The united states PAC. Ten days upcoming, he publicly introduced his endorsement of Trump and temporarily become a key determine within the former president’s marketing campaign.
At a rally Musk held in Pennsylvania for Trump on Oct. 20, he reiterated a message featured in lots of his X posts.
“This is the most important election in your lifetime,” he stated. “If there’s any election where you ever vote, it should be this one.”
Nearest Trump’s victory, the president-elect tapped him to top a pristine initiative referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency with former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, advising the president on slicing $500 billion in annual spending and lowering federal govt positions.
