Fresh campaign financing data shows that Elon Musk poured more than $260 million into political groups in 2024 that helped Donald Trump win the presidential election and, consequently, secured a position for himself as the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The New York Times reported that Musk and the entities he controls disclosed about $277 million in donations to federal groups this election cycle.
Musk is the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, and the owner of X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. His donations make Musk the largest donor of the election cycle, and they can be viewed as an investment in the future of his own companies. Trump is in favor of deregulation, which could benefit industries Musk is involved in, including AI and space exploration.
Musk’s xAI this week landed $6 billion in fresh funds. The billionaire executive is worth $361.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He has seen his wealth surge in the month since Trump won the election.
The bulk of Musk’s donation, roughly $238.5 million, went to the America PAC, a super political action committee he founded in the spring that largely focused on the presidential race. Reports have shown that the America PAC funded ads across social media that impersonated Democrats and their stances with cartoonishly woke and inaccurate sentiments.
Super PACs can accept unlimited donations, and Musk has said he expects the PAC to “keep grinding” through the midterms.
The super PAC’s filing shows it made 18 payments of $1 million to people who served as “spokesperson consultants.” Musk offered $1 million daily giveaways to a registered voter in swing states if they signed a pledge to support free speech and gun rights. A lawsuit from Philadelphia’s district attorney against Musk and America PAC accusing them of running an “unlawful lottery” failed to win an injunction to stop the payments.
Musk also donated $20.5 million to RBG PAC, a super PAC that ran ads claiming Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court justice, had abortion positions that aligned with Trump’s. Ginsburg was a staunch supporter of abortion rights. Trump has said he is against a national abortion ban but has stacked his cabinet with politicians like Doug Burgum who have passed or support strict abortion laws.
Musk also gave $3 million to the MAHA Alliance super PAC. The total extent of Musk’s political donations is not yet known, but the number is expected to continue growing.
