The donation, if made, would be a major step forward not only for Trump’s re-election campaign but also for the relationship between Trump and Musk
At first, billionaire Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump seemed to have little in common, and even more in opposition.
One side makes electric cars with the main selling point being the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The other side is skeptical about whether emissions cuts are necessary, and considers most forms of clean energy unnecessary and harmful.
One side wants to move away from fossil fuels and convert all cars in the world to electric. The other side believes that electric cars are an “economic disaster” for Americans and that the United States should produce and consume more oil.
However, by the end of last week, Musk had publicly endorsed Trump’s re-election bid. Musk is planning to support Trump’s reelection campaign by pledging $45 million a month to a super PAC that raises money for the former president, a person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
The donations, if made, would be a major step forward not only for Trump’s reelection bid but also for his relationship with the Tesla chief.
Musk has previously donated to the campaigns of presidential candidates from both parties, including $5,000 to former President Barack Obama’s fundraising committee in March 2011. He has mostly supported Democratic candidates, but most of the money has been small, insignificant compared to his planned support for Trump, who is widely expected to be the Republican nominee this year. Over the years, the billionaire has argued that the Democratic Party has leaned too far to the left, making it impossible for him to support many of its candidates.
Last Saturday, Musk posted on social network X (formerly Twitter) right after the failed assassination attempt on Trump: “I fully support former President Trump and hope he recovers soon.” In addition, when an account named @EndWokeness said that Musk “went from being an Obama supporter to donating $180 million to DJT (Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. – Trump’s media company), Musk replied “yeah” (meaning agree).
According to analysts, in addition to his financial potential with a fortune of hundreds of billions of dollars, Musk is also one of the most influential people in the world with his social network account X having 190 million followers. Receiving the billionaire’s support could be an advantage for Trump.
However, Musk and Trump have not always had a cordial relationship. In early 2017, Musk withdrew from two White House advisory councils after Trump announced the US would withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
“Climate change is a reality. Leaving the Paris climate accord is not good for America or the world,” Musk tweeted at the time.
However, Musk has repeatedly expressed support for Trump or opposition to President Joe Biden over the past few years. Shortly after acquiring Twitter in the fall of 2022, the billionaire restored Trump’s account. Trump had previously been locked out of the account because of his alleged involvement in the riots at the US Capitol.
Meanwhile, Tesla, Musk’s biggest asset, has benefited significantly from the Biden administration’s electric vehicle subsidies, including a tax credit of up to $7,500 for electric vehicle buyers. However, Mr. Musk argued that Mr. Biden’s subsidies actually help Tesla’s competitors more.
“Stop subsidies. It will help Tesla. Get rid of subsidies for every industry,” Mr. Musk was uploading to X on July 16.