Elon Musk Donates $75 Million to His Own Pro-Trump Group

Elon Musk, a far-right influencer who besides happens to beryllium 1 of the wealthiest radical successful the world, formed a governmental enactment committee successful May called America PAC, a radical dedicated to re-electing erstwhile president Donald Trump. And the PAC’s quarterly filing with the Federal Election Commission was posted publicly precocious Tuesday, revealing Musk has donated astir $75 cardinal since July 3. That sum makes Musk 1 of the biggest contributors to Trump-aligned propaganda groups successful this predetermination cycle.

Musk responded overnight connected X to quality of his donations being made nationalist that his America PAC, “is conscionable aiming for communal sense, centrist values.” It should beryllium noted, of course, that this is horseshit. It’s implicit and utter horseshit, since Trump is simply a racist, convicted felon and sexual predator who dismantled termination rights successful this state and promises to beryllium a dictator connected time one. You know, centrist stuff.

The Wall Street Journal reported backmost connected July 16 that Musk was apt to donate astir $45 cardinal per period to his PAC, a assertion the Tesla CEO initially denied. Musk tweeted a graphic that work “fake gnus” astir the archetypal report, starring galore of his defenders to deliberation helium wasn’t donating anything. But that wasn’t the case, obviously.

pic.twitter.com/RJdF7MWeEi

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 16, 2024

Musk aboriginal admitted helium was contributing money to America PAC, conscionable not $45 cardinal per month. The billionaire didn’t elaborate, creating a guessing crippled for the wide nationalist arsenic it became progressively wide that Musk had inserted himself into the predetermination cycle. Aside from promoting pro-Trump contented connected the societal media tract helium purchased, formerly known arsenic Twitter, Musk besides appeared astatine an Oct. 5 rally for Trump successful Butler, Pennsylvania, wherever helium jumped around similar an awkward toddler, exposing his tummy and mostly making a fool of himself.

But the time erstwhile we would yet larn however overmuch wealth Musk had donated was inevitably going to travel around. In reality, the tech mogul donated $14.95 cardinal successful July, $30 cardinal successful August, and $30 cardinal successful September, according to the FEC filing, totaling $74.95 million.

The FEC filing covers donations from July 1 to Sept. 30, truthful it’s unclear if Musk has made immoderate donations successful the past 2 weeks. And portion Musk’s archetypal donations weren’t reaching the level of $45 cardinal per month, arsenic the Wall Street Journal claimed, it was inactive a bully chunk of money. Musk besides knows rather good that this was the past FEC filing earlier the predetermination connected Nov. 5, truthful there’s plentifulness of clip for Musk to inject much currency earlier immoderate of it tin beryllium made public.

Musk’s donations:

• $5 cardinal connected July 3
• $5 cardinal connected July 10
• $4.95 cardinal connected July 18
• $7.5 cardinal connected Aug. 5
• $7.5 cardinal connected Aug. 6
• $15 cardinal connected Aug. 20
• $30 cardinal connected Sept. 5

What does each of this wealth get spent on? The radical buys integer ads connected platforms similar Google, YouTube, and Facebook successful an effort to person radical that Trump, a convicted felon and racist dullard, is really the idiosyncratic who should tally this state again. There are besides a fistful of ads for Republicans successful precise competitory House races.

Some of the ads adjacent diagnostic Musk himself, imploring radical to “fight, fight, fight” and “vote, vote, vote” for Trump, similar successful the advertisement below, 1 that’s presently moving connected YouTube.

The Facebook ads are peculiarly embarrassing, fixed the information that they committedness anyone who requests a mail-in ballot for the upcoming predetermination volition get their sanction sent to Trump astatine his location successful Mar-a-Lago. Some of the ads adjacent notation to thing called the 47 Club, a notation to Trump hoping to beryllium the 47th president.

“The 47 Club isn’t for everyone. It’s an elite radical Trump trusts,” the narrator says. “To go a member, you indispensable bash 1 thing. Request a mail-in ballot. Once you do, your sanction is going consecutive to Mar-a-Lago. Vote by message and prevention America.”

The benignant seems to mimic the “secret” rank clubs promoted by artifact and cereal manufacturers successful the 1950s and 60s when the people assemblage of Boomers were children. The accusation is that Trump himself volition spot their name, though anyone who’s impressed by that transparently fake committedness astir apt isn’t astute capable to motion their ain sanction connected a ballot, fto unsocial run a computer.

America PAC besides made headlines precocious erstwhile it promised to springiness $47 cash to anyone who signs a “petition” successful a plaything authorities that pledges to enactment the First and Second Amendments. The ploy is intelligibly a mode to cod idiosyncratic accusation connected voters successful battleground states, though it’s not wide however galore radical person really participated nor whether they’ll really get paid. It’s besides unclear what the accusation volition beryllium utilized for this adjacent to the election.

The radical besides pays radical to spell door-to-door and inquire them to ballot for Trump. But caller reports from the Washington Post and the Guardian astir on-the-ground activities of the radical marque the full endeavor dependable similar a disorganized shitshow. And that astir apt won’t travel arsenic a astonishment to galore people, fixed Musk’s estimation arsenic a antheral who mismanages truthful galore aspects of his businesses.

America PAC reportedly pays workers betwixt $20-40 per hr to sound connected doors and person apt Trump voters successful important plaything states to get retired and ballot early. But those workers appears to sometimes person atrocious info, according to the Post, often coming upon homes occupied by radical who accidental they’ll ballot for Kamala Harris oregon undecided voters who are hard to persuade.

The workers usage an app called Campaign Sidekick which tin beryllium glitchy, arsenic the Washington Post reports, and requires accelerated mobile connections to enactment arsenic intended. That’s evidently a occupation successful much agrarian areas of battleground states similar Wisconsin, wherever the Post spoke with a idiosyncratic who was retired knocking connected doors.

When a fixed idiosyncratic doesn’t person a accelerated mobile connection, they’re expected to usage the app successful “offline” mode, which presents adjacent much challenges, according to the Guardian, since it doesn’t upload completed routes decently arsenic the quality outlet tells it. Tracking those routes is indispensable to guarantee workers are hitting the close houses but besides to warrant efforts aren’t being duplicated. Campaign Sidekick didn’t instantly respond to a connection Tuesday but pushed backmost to the Guardian against claims the app is glitchy, “saying it has ever been upfront astir the limitations of offline walkbook.”

To complicate things further, the workers whitethorn not adjacent beryllium decently engaging radical erstwhile they spell retired connected their routes, according to the Guardian, with immoderate unit conscionable “speed-running” an assigned way and throwing run materials astatine the doorway without knocking. Workers are paid by the fig of doors they knock, which creates adjacent much atrocious incentives for radical who whitethorn not beryllium existent believers successful MAGA’s fascist cause. It each sounds similar a mess, obviously. But that’s to beryllium expected connected immoderate level with paid unit hired successful a rush.

And it sounds similar everything truly has been successful a rush. The Post reports that immoderate of Musk’s aboriginal governmental advisors warned him that helium was trying to determination things excessively quickly, fixed the clip disposable earlier the election, “cautioning that it would necessitate months much to decently prosecute and bid the indispensable staff.” But doing things excessively rapidly and trying to woody with the fallout is benignant of Musk’s full playbook, arsenic anyone who saw the smoke and mirrors astatine Tesla’s large Cybercab lawsuit last week tin attest.

The paper besides notes that Musk fired astatine slightest 3 vendors implicit the summertime conscionable arsenic they were astir to get started, making an already condensed timeline adjacent much chaotic. And Musk has been micromanaging things successful a frustrating way, according to aggregate reports that day back to September.

Alysia McMillan uses an app to cognize which doors to sound connected and to participate successful accusation aft making interaction with a elector arsenic she canvasses for Elon Musk’s America PAC connected Sunday, October 13, 2024 successful Dalton, GA. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage for The Post)

Musk endorsed Trump soon aft the erstwhile president was changeable astatine during 1 of his neo-fascist rallies successful Butler, Pennsylvania. And Musk has said that helium believes Democrats volition put him successful prison if Trump doesn’t win, though it’s not wholly wide wherefore helium mightiness deliberation that. Musk besides reportedly banned a reporter from X for releasing a dossier connected JD Vance aft the Trump run coordinated with the billionaire. That newsman has since been reinstated to Musk’s societal media level aft the coordination became public.

The contention betwixt Trump and Harris is inactive neck-and-neck if you tin judge it, with FiveThirtyEight’s polling mean showing Harris up conscionable 2.4% successful the nationalist polling. Things are adjacent tighter successful the must-win states of Wisconsin, wherever Harris is up conscionable 0.5%, Pennsylvania, wherever she’s up conscionable 0.7% and Michigan, wherever she’s besides up conscionable 0.7%. It’s going to beryllium a adjacent 1 if the polls are to beryllium believed.