Elon Musk has donated nearly $75 million to Donald Trump’s campaign

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has poured nearly $75 million into Donald Trump’s re-election bid.

The Tesla CEO has made several multimillion-dollar donations to a pro-Trump political action committee (PAC) called America PAC, according to a federal filing released on Tuesday.

America PAC has already spent more than $96 million supporting Trump’s campaign, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics.

On top of that, they’ve thrown in another $10 million to back Republicans running for Congress.

Musk’s endorsement of Trump

Musk first officially endorsed Trump back in July right after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The billionaire appeared on stage with him during a rally earlier this month at the same location. The scale of Musk’s donation makes him one of Trump’s biggest backers this election cycle. 

Miriam Adelson, widow of the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, has donated $95 million to her pro-Trump super PAC, Preserve America.

The former president has been facing a fundraising deficit against his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.

Right now, general polls show Harris leading Trump nationally by around 2%, but it’s a much tighter race in key swing states.

Musk, who previously supported Democrats, has declared the 2024 election as the last chance to save democracy. He claimed on Tucker Carlson’s X show that illegal immigrants would take over if Harris wins. 

“If Trump doesn’t win this election, it’s the last election we’re going to have,” Musk warned. Musk has long been mocking Biden and Harris on social media.

The Tesla CEO’s sudden involvement in politics came from his frustration with what he calls “woke” politics. He’s been critical of the Biden administration and its policies, which he sees as hostile to his businesses.

In fact, he threatened to move his companies X and SpaceX to Texas after California passed a law preventing schools from notifying parents if their child changes gender identity.

The PAC’s ground efforts

America PAC has hired canvassers in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, paying them $30 an hour to get the job done.

They’re even offering $47 to anyone who can get a registered voter to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments, which protect free speech and gun rights.

The number 47 is a play at the fact that Trump would be the 47th president if he wins. Musk is expected to lead a commission that would audit federal spending and regulations.

John Paulson, a top Trump donor and potential pick for Treasury Secretary, called Musk one of the most important innovators of our time.

America PAC has drawn contributions from other big names in tech, including the Winklevoss twins, who made a fortune in crypto, and early Tesla investor Antonio Gracias. Joe Lonsdale of Palantir Technologies and Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, have also chipped in.

Crypto backs Trump 47

The crypto industry is also stepping up big time. A pro-Trump PAC called Trump 47 has raised about $7.5 million in crypto donations.

The filing shows that contributors have donated everything from Bitcoin and Ether to stablecoins like tether and USDC.

Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group, reported that nearly half of all corporate money going into the election is coming from the crypto industry.

Coinbase, Ripple, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are leading the charge. The crypto industry has raised about 13 times more for this election than it did in the last one.

At least 18 donors gave more than $5.5 million in Bitcoin alone. Seven more contributors donated around $1.5 million in ETH.

Contributors come from over 15 states, including a few key battlegrounds, and include professionals from all walks of life, like engineers at Lockheed Martin and producers from Esperanza Entertainment.

David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc., gave over $498,000 in bitcoin and has been a key player in changing Trump’s mind on crypto.

The former president made an appearance as the keynote speaker at the biggest Bitcoin conference of the year in Nashville three months ago where he raised $25 million from.

Chase Herro, co-founder of the Trump family’s new crypto project, World Liberty Financial, has been involved in fundraising through the sale of WLFI tokens.

The project allegedly aims to function as a decentralized bank where users can borrow, lend, and invest in crypto.

But the launch has faced some setbacks, including technical issues that crashed the website repeatedly. Despite raising $10.2 million so far, it’s still far from the $300 million fundraising goal.