Elon Musk announces $1 million daily to support Trump campaign: How his politics turned pro-Republican
Posted on 10/20/2024
Musk has reportedly made the first award to one John Dreher via the ‘America’ Political Action Committee (PAC) he founded. PACs help pool funds for election campaigns, with Musk’s committee supporting “candidates who champion Secure Borders, Sensible Spending, Safe Cities, Fair Justice System, Free Speech and Self-Protection”.
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Musk’s X bio openly states that he supports Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump in the elections. Once a supporter of Democratic candidates such as Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, how did the entrepreneur begin championing conservative causes?
Pre-pandemic: Politically moderate, socially ambivalent
The South Africa-born billionaire businessman and entrepreneur owns the automobile company Tesla, spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, and social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Musk had long described his political views as middle-of-the-road, even tweeting in 2018 that he was a “registered independent & politically moderate” but not “moderate about all issues.” In 2016, he supported the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to protect people from the automation of jobs as Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed. Two years later, however, he decried an attempt by workers at the California Tesla factory to unionise.
He reportedly endorsed Democrat presidential candidates Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and Hillary Clinton in 2016. In 2016, he described Donald Trump as “probably not the right guy” and lacking “the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”
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Post-pandemic: decrying “the woke mind virus”
The onset of the pandemic marked a definite turning point. Musk became active on Twitter and like many other users, speculated on the duration and severity of the health crisis. He doubled down on his comments, telling The New York Times podcast in 2020 that he would not take the Covid-19 vaccine.
Since then, he made clear his discontent with President Biden, calling him a “damp sock puppet” for “ignoring” SpaceX and Tesla in favour of legacy companies.
A radicalisation expert who spoke to The Guardian in 2024 opined that Musk was guided by no principles “except whatever will enrich him, and a deep need for attention and validation. He’s been getting the latter in spades from the far right ever since he started on his rightward radicalisation and he’s constructed for himself the world’s largest echo chamber, which will only continue to fuel that.”
Personal issues likely contributed to Musk’s swing to the right, with him connecting many of the politically sensitive debates in the country to his own life. His daughter came out as transgender in 2022 and applied to change her name. He has cited this development as a reason for his current political leaning, telling conservative psychologist-influencer Jordan Peterson that he had “lost his son” to the “woke mind virus”.
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Elon Musk’s role in the Trump campaign
After maintaining for years that he would not endorse either of the presidential candidates, most recently in March, Musk endorsed Donald Trump as the Presidential candidate in July 2024. This happened shortly after the assassination attempt against Trump. Musk said Trump needed to win “to preserve democracy” and suggested Ohio Senator JD Vance as Trump’s potential running mate. Vance was eventually selected as the Vice-Presidential candidate.
Earlier this month, Musk made his debut at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the assassination attempt. Pennsylvania and a few more US states are also seen as not being aligned to either of the two parties (called “swing states”) and are up for grabs in the Presidential race. He described himself as “dark MAGA”, alluding to a hardline conservative interpretation of the “Make America Great Again” values that Trump has espoused.
The Wall Street Journal last month uncovered that Elon Musk quietly began extending millions of dollars in donations from 2022 onwards to Republican groups aligned with Trump and former Republican Presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis.
A quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in October revealed that Musk, the sole donor to America PAC, spent about $75 million to support Trump’s election bid between July and September. The PAC has focused efforts on swing states and initiatives like Musk’s outreach to mobilise undecided voters in the upcoming election. The sway he holds through the ownership of X, and his significant personal wealth, are seen as major assets for the Trump campaign.
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Musk’s X bio openly states that he supports Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump in the elections. Once a supporter of Democratic candidates such as Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, how did the entrepreneur begin championing conservative causes?
Pre-pandemic: Politically moderate, socially ambivalent
The South Africa-born billionaire businessman and entrepreneur owns the automobile company Tesla, spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, and social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Musk had long described his political views as middle-of-the-road, even tweeting in 2018 that he was a “registered independent & politically moderate” but not “moderate about all issues.” In 2016, he supported the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to protect people from the automation of jobs as Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed. Two years later, however, he decried an attempt by workers at the California Tesla factory to unionise.
He reportedly endorsed Democrat presidential candidates Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and Hillary Clinton in 2016. In 2016, he described Donald Trump as “probably not the right guy” and lacking “the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”
Advertisement
Post-pandemic: decrying “the woke mind virus”
The onset of the pandemic marked a definite turning point. Musk became active on Twitter and like many other users, speculated on the duration and severity of the health crisis. He doubled down on his comments, telling The New York Times podcast in 2020 that he would not take the Covid-19 vaccine.
Since then, he made clear his discontent with President Biden, calling him a “damp sock puppet” for “ignoring” SpaceX and Tesla in favour of legacy companies.
A radicalisation expert who spoke to The Guardian in 2024 opined that Musk was guided by no principles “except whatever will enrich him, and a deep need for attention and validation. He’s been getting the latter in spades from the far right ever since he started on his rightward radicalisation and he’s constructed for himself the world’s largest echo chamber, which will only continue to fuel that.”
Personal issues likely contributed to Musk’s swing to the right, with him connecting many of the politically sensitive debates in the country to his own life. His daughter came out as transgender in 2022 and applied to change her name. He has cited this development as a reason for his current political leaning, telling conservative psychologist-influencer Jordan Peterson that he had “lost his son” to the “woke mind virus”.
Advertisement
Elon Musk’s role in the Trump campaign
After maintaining for years that he would not endorse either of the presidential candidates, most recently in March, Musk endorsed Donald Trump as the Presidential candidate in July 2024. This happened shortly after the assassination attempt against Trump. Musk said Trump needed to win “to preserve democracy” and suggested Ohio Senator JD Vance as Trump’s potential running mate. Vance was eventually selected as the Vice-Presidential candidate.
Earlier this month, Musk made his debut at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the assassination attempt. Pennsylvania and a few more US states are also seen as not being aligned to either of the two parties (called “swing states”) and are up for grabs in the Presidential race. He described himself as “dark MAGA”, alluding to a hardline conservative interpretation of the “Make America Great Again” values that Trump has espoused.
The Wall Street Journal last month uncovered that Elon Musk quietly began extending millions of dollars in donations from 2022 onwards to Republican groups aligned with Trump and former Republican Presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis.
A quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in October revealed that Musk, the sole donor to America PAC, spent about $75 million to support Trump’s election bid between July and September. The PAC has focused efforts on swing states and initiatives like Musk’s outreach to mobilise undecided voters in the upcoming election. The sway he holds through the ownership of X, and his significant personal wealth, are seen as major assets for the Trump campaign.
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