Elon Musk spent more than $277 million to support Donald Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2024 election. This makes him the largest donor to either party, according to Federal Election Commission filings released on Thursday. Most of Musk’s spending, $239 million, went to his own America PAC.
But filings also showed Musk funded a PAC called “RBG PAC” that ran misleading ads claiming the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg held similar views to Trump on abortion. Musk was the sole donor to RBG PAC, giving $20.5 million. Ginsburg’s granddaughter, Clara Spera, called the PAC “nothing short of appalling.” She said it misrepresented her grandmother’s strong support for abortion rights, which contrasted with Trump’s stance.
Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who helped overturn the federal right to abortion. Musk also gave $10 million to a fund backing Republican Senate candidates and $3 million to a PAC linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Musk’s political donations scrutinized
America PAC funded a large voter outreach effort with door knocking, texting, calling, mailers and ads. Its biggest expense was $40.5 million paid to a company registered to an address associated with Musk.
In October, Musk offered $1 million a day to Pennsylvania voters who signed his petition, which faced legal challenges. His lawyers said winners were picked based on their stories and the money was for them to become America PAC spokespeople. Musk now faces lawsuits claiming it was falsely presented as a lottery.
Musk’s political spending surged quickly. In March, he said he would not donate to either presidential candidate. But on July 3, he gave $5 million to America PAC and soon after endorsed Trump, becoming a key campaign figure.
After Trump’s win, the president-elect chose Musk to lead an initiative with former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to cut $500 billion in annual federal spending and reduce government jobs.
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
