Tesla SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has quickly become one of Donald Trump’s biggest political donors and is now emerging as one of the Republican presidential nominee’s most high-profile surrogates.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has donated nearly $75 million to America PAC, the super PAC he created earlier this year primarily to support Trump. Federal Election Commission Documents reveal. Disclosure reports show that nearly $72 million of that amount has been spent.
The group’s bulk purchases all occurred in the third quarter, between July and September. Musk is the only contributor listed for that period.
The PAC, which was founded in late May, reported spending a total of $102 million on the presidential campaign to date, FEC filings show.
However, unlike most super PACs, USA PAC does not spend money to set aside expensive television airtime to run ads. Instead, the group’s filings show it is paying lobbyists and funding direct mail, text messages and phone banks.
At the same time, Musk announced overnight on the social media website X, which he spent $44 billion to acquire in 2022, that he would conduct a multi-day speaking tour in Pennsylvania, the most important presidential swing state.
“I will be giving a series of speeches across Pennsylvania starting tomorrow night through Monday,” Musk wrote at 12:26 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
“If you want to attend my speech, there is no attendance fee. All you need to do is sign our petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms and vote in this election,” he wrote.
Musk followed up by adding: “To clarify, you need to vote in Pennsylvania.”
The petition requires signatories to provide personal contact information, including full names, mobile phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses. This voter information is extremely valuable to campaigns and political groups, who use it to hone their advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Further details about the incident were unclear. There was no immediate response to an email sent to Musk and his colleagues.
The two headlines underscore Musk’s shift to the political right and his efforts to further solidify Trump’s victory over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Musk publicly endorsed Trump on July 13, minutes after the former president was assassinated at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
When Trump returned to the site for another rally in early October, Musk joined him on stage wearing a black hat that read “Make America Great Again” and passionately declared himself “Dark MAGA.” .
Last week, in an interview with former Fox News commentary host Tucker Carlson
He cited broad terms such as free speech, safe cities and “self-preservation,” calling them “very clearly centrist positions.”
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