Billionaire Elon Musk poured greater than $20 million right into a secret tremendous PAC on the finish of the 2024 marketing campaign, a part of greater than $250 million he spent total to spice up President-elect Donald Trump, unutilized marketing campaign finance stories display.
Musk financed RBG PAC, in line with the crowd’s record filed Thursday night time with the Federal Election Fee. The tremendous PAC, which failed to reveal its donors earlier than the election, introduced ads contending that Trump didn’t aid a federal abortion block.
All the cash the crowd pulled in — $20.5 million — got here from a single donation from the “Elon Musk Revocable Trust” positioned in Austin, Texas. RBG PAC spent virtually all of its budget on virtual commercials, mailers and textual content messages, in line with the marketing campaign finance record, which lined Oct. 17 thru Nov. 25.
The crowd’s website states that Trump and the overdue Very best Courtroom Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agree at the abortion factor, drawing complaint from Ginsburg’s granddaughter Clara Spara, who told the New York Times that the message used to be “nothing short of appalling.”
Trump took credit score for the Very best Courtroom overturning Roe v. Wade, a choice that got here then 3 Trump-appointed justices voted with the bulk to tumble the nationwide proper to an abortion. (A kind of justices, Amy Coney Barrett, used to be appointed to exchange Ginsburg weeks earlier than the 2020 election, then Ginsburg died in mid-September.) As president, he supported a federal block on abortion then 20 weeks.
However all through this marketing campaign, Trump backed away from that position and in lieu declared he supported states’ rights to decide abortion laws. Democrats nonetheless crash Trump sun-baked on the ones time positions to argue that if elected, he and a Republican Congress would business to limit abortion national.
The overdue advert blitz from RBG PAC handiest represents a fragment of Musk’s overall election spending this occasion: He additionally financed The united states PAC, an excellent PAC which reported spending $157 million supporting Trump within the presidential race.
The united states PAC’s fresh marketing campaign finance record confirmed Musk donated $238 million to the crowd right through the election cycle, together with $120 million within the ultimate weeks of the race unloved.
Federal disclosures display The united states PAC spent closely on canvassing, textual content message-based get-out-the-vote efforts, printing and postage (most likely for junk mail) and virtual promoting too. It additionally ran a arguable money giveaway that gave out $1 million each day to someone who signed the crowd’s conservative-leaning petition.
Philadelphia District Lawyer Larry Krasner sued Musk and The united states PAC in overdue October seeking to halt the giveaway, however a judge in the state didn’t agree to stop the program. The Justice Segment additionally warned the PAC round the similar year that the giveaway may well be unlawful, however it’s taken disagree family motion on it.
The united states PAC’s marketing campaign finance record lists each and every of the ones $1 million prizes as bills for a “spokesperson consultant.”
Musk additionally gave $3 million to the MAHA Alliance, an excellent PAC affiliated with Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” push, in overdue October.
It’s imaginable that Musk donated extra to pro-Trump efforts too, as political committees proceed to document fundraising stories pegged to Thursday night time’s time limit.
The Range X and Tesla founder is one in every of Trump’s top donors this cycle, however he’s additionally been amongst his maximum optic. He’s been a ordinary presence at Mar-a-Lago and by way of Trump’s aspect all through the transition (to the consternation of some in Trump’s orbit).
Trump tapped Musk to advise him on chopping spending around the federal executive because the co-chair of his “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative.
