The Tesla and SpaceX boss, Elon Musk, donated around $260 million to support Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Musk, the richest man in the world, is set to bring major reforms with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Elon Musk used his social media platform, X, and his resources to support Donald Trump in his successful bid for the US presidency. (Photo: Reuters)
US billionaire Elon Musk donated at least $260 million to the Donald Trump campaign in the US elections in 2024. Musk also left no state unturned to reach out to the people of the US. Here, his social media platform X came in handy to reach people. Some experts even say an endorsement from Tesla and X CEO made all the difference needed for Trump's win against the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris. His donations made him one of the largest donors to the Trump campaign.
Musk has used his social media platform X to support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his successful bid to the White House.
Trump will take the oath as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025.
Now, the filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveal that the world's richest man donated $238 million to a super political action committee (PAC) wh he founded. America PAC aimed to increase the voters for Trump in key swing states.
In addition to America PAC, Musk backed other groups supporting Trump in the final days of the election. One such group, RBG PAC, donated $20.5 million from Musk to fund ads defending Trump's record on abortion.
Abortion remained an issue between the Grand Old Party voters and the Democrats. During the first presidential debate between Trump and Kamala Harris, hosted by ABC News, there was a fiery debate on the issue.
As for these ads, they controversially linked Trump's views to those of the late Supreme Court Justice and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which Ginsburg's granddaughter, Clara Spera, publicly denounced as misleading.
Musk also donated $3 million to the MAHA Alliance, a super PAC that ran ads urging supporters of Robert F Kennedy Jr to back Trump. Kennedy, who had ended his independent campaign and endorsed Trump, coined the term "Make America Healthy Again" for the alliance.
Musk's active involvement in Trump's campaign has earned him a spot in the president-elect's inner circle. He has even called himself "the first buddy" of America to silence those who were surprised at seeing Musk around the President-elect all the time.
After winning the election, Trump, in his new cabinet for the second term, appointed Musk and former Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, who withdrew from the race early and endorsed Trump, to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at reducing government spending.
The support for the Trump campaign by Musk had begun after he held his first solo rally to support Trump in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.
But now, the two are seen together often and with intent to overhaul what they consider the "deep state" in the US. As for the donation and Musk's endorsement, it went a long way in launching a Trump presidency.
Published By:
Girish Kumar Anshul
Published On:
Dec 6, 2024