Elon Musk spent greater than 1 / 4 of a billion {dollars} to again President-elect Donald Trump and different Republican candidates, marketing campaign finance data filed Thursday present.
The sum makes Musk, the world’s richest particular person, the biggest donor within the 2024 election cycle to both celebration, Federal Election Fee filings present.
The majority of Musk’s spending was by his personal America PAC, to which he contributed $239 million. However filings additionally confirmed that Musk was additionally behind a political motion committee utilizing the late Supreme Courtroom Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s namesake — “RBG PAC” — in ads with deceptive claims that Ginsburg held views on abortion that had been just like Trump’s.
Ginsburg’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, informed The New York Occasions in October that the PAC was an “affront to her grandmother’s legacy,” and it was “nothing in need of appalling” that Ginsburg’s identify was getting used to assist Trump’s reelection marketing campaign. Ginsburg overtly supported abortion rights, whereas Trump put three conservative justices on the Supreme Courtroom who had been a part of the bulk opinion within the case putting down the federal proper to an abortion.
Musk put $20.5 million into the PAC, the one contribution it obtained. The group ran ads emphasizing Trump’s statements that he would veto a nationwide abortion ban if elected, and pointing to Ginsburg’s statements that the choice in Roe v. Wade went too far.
Musk additionally donated $10 million to the Senate Management Fund, which helps Republican Senate candidates, and $3 million to the MAHA Alliance PAC, a bunch affiliated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Wholesome Once more” message.
By way of the America PAC, his predominant marketing campaign car, Musk and a handful of different donors funded a get-out-the-vote effort by door-knocking, texting, telephone calls, mailers and ads.
By far, America PAC’s largest expense was a $40.5 million cost to United States of America, Inc, an organization registered final month with an deal with related to Musk. It is unclear how precisely these funds had been used.
In October, Musk additionally pledged to offer away $1 million a day to a registered voter in Pennsylvania who signed his petition. The sweepstakes had been challenged in court docket, however a decide dominated that they may proceed. Musk’s legal professionals stated the winners weren’t chosen by likelihood, however as a substitute primarily based on their private tales, and the funds had been a part of a contract they signed to develop into spokespeople for his America PAC. Musk is now going through a number of lawsuits from contributors who declare it was falsely billed as a lottery.
He rose as a serious political donor quickly. In March, he posted on X, the social media platform Musk owns, that he wouldn’t donate to both presidential candidate. After which on July 3, he made his first contribution of $5 million to America PAC. Ten days later, he publicly introduced his endorsement of Trump and rapidly turned 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.
“That is crucial election in your lifetime,” he stated. “If there’s any election the place you ever vote, it must be this one.”
After Trump’s victory, the president-elect tapped him to guide a brand new initiative known as the Division of Authorities Effectivity with former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, advising the president on reducing $500 billion in annual spending and lowering federal authorities positions.
