Elon Musk has called rumours that he will donate $45 million a month to Donald Trump “false” and said he is not “referring to a cult of personality”.
The Tesla boss, instead, explained that he planned to start making “lower-level” donations in July to the America PAC he created to support the former president with massive cash injections.
Musk’s personal donations were reportedly expected to reach $45 million a month, in addition to those from other wealthy Trump fans.
But he belatedly denied a Wall Street Journal report last week touting the huge figure, citing people familiar with Musk’s plans.
Elon Musk denies he will donate $45 million a month to help Donald Trump win the presidential election
Musk said he planned to start donating in July to the America PAC he created to support former President Donald Trump with massive cash injections.
“What’s been published in the media is simply not true. I’m not going to donate $45 million a month to Trump,” he said during a video with Jordan Peterson.
Musk later commented on Twitter, calling the $45 million figure “ridiculous” and explaining why he was supporting Republicans.
“I am making some donations to America PAC, but at a much smaller level and the PAC’s core values are supporting meritocracy and individual liberty,” he wrote.
‘Republicans are mostly, but not exclusively, on the side of merit and liberty.’
It is unknown whether the sources cited in the initial report were wrong or whether Musk simply changed his mind and claimed it was never the plan.
But the massive donation was cited by the former president, who praised Musk during a rally on Saturday.
“I love Elon Musk,” Trump said in Michigan. “We have to make life better for our smart people, and he’s as smart as anybody.”
Musk discussed his reasons for making large donations to Trump and Republicans in his conversation with controversial psychology professor Jordan Peterson on Twitter, which Musk owns.
Musk also discussed his reasons for making large donations to Trump and Republicans in his conversation with Peterson on Twitter, which Musk owns.
The controversial psychology professor, wearing a bizarre suit jacket printed with dozens of Jesus icons, asked Musk about his shift to the Republicans.
“I don’t support the cult of personality,” he said, insisting that his super PAC “is not meant to be some kind of hyperpartisan entity.”
Musk said he believed he and the Republican Party were more aligned on their “core values” than he and the Democrats.
“One of those values is meritocracy, as much meritocracy as possible, so that you can advance based on your abilities and nothing else,” he said.
He said the PAC supported freedom from “as much government intervention as possible” and claimed the state was becoming more restrictive every year.
Musk said Trump showed “great courage” after the assassination attempt on him during a rally on July 13, where a bullet grazed his ear.
The businessman first expressed his explicit support for Trump as president in the hours after the assassination attempt, although this had long been suspected.
Trump returned the favor, praising his new superfan’s intelligence at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“We have to make life better for our smart people, you know? We have smart people,” he said.
“We have to make life better for our smart people, and he’s as smart as it gets.”
Peterson, wearing a bizarre suit jacket printed with dozens of Jesus icons, asked Musk about his switch to the Republican Party.
Musk told Peterson that he stopped supporting Democrats after voting for Joe Biden in 2020 because, he said, they were the party of censorship.
This comes despite Republican state governments banning books they disagree with and Musk frequently criticizing transgender people.
Musk also cited an aborted Justice Department lawsuit against Space X last year alleging it discouraged refugees from applying for jobs there.
The billionaire has stepped up his attacks on Biden and Democrats in general this year, and on Sunday mocked Vice President Kamala Harris by using pronouns in a 2022 video.
Musk has attracted several wealthy donors to his America PAC in recent weeks, including Lonsdale Enterprises and the Winklevoss Twins.
The company donated $1 million, with Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each contributing $250,000.
Others involved with Lonsdale include former U.S. ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and her husband, Joe Craft.
Musk was not listed in a filing for the group, which showed it had raised more than $8 million.
Musk’s endorsement of Trump cemented his shift toward right-wing politics and gives the former president a high-profile backer in his bid to return to the White House in the Nov. 5 election.
Trump has chosen Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate, while the Republican Party has officially nominated the former president to run for the White House again.
In March, Trump met with Musk and other wealthy donors and caused such an uproar that Musk later made a claim on social media.
“Just to be very clear, I will not be donating money to any of the candidates for president of the United States,” he said on March 6.
In May, he also denied media reports that there had been talks about a possible advisory role for him in any Trump presidency.
In March, Trump met with Musk and other wealthy donors and caused such a stir that Musk made a statement on social media afterward: “To be very clear, I am not donating money to any of the candidates for President of the United States,” he said on March 6.
Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said Musk knows Trump is “a fool who will sell out America, cutting taxes while raising taxes on the middle class by $2,500.”
“Joe Biden has stood up to people like Elon and fought for the middle class his entire career, and that’s why he will win in November,” Singer said in a statement.
Unlike other billionaires, Musk has not spent much on political donations, but he has previously donated to both Republicans and Democrats.
Musk has personally provided funding to politicians including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Marco Rubio, George W. Bush and John Kerry.
His companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have benefited from federal government contracts and subsidies.
In recent years, however, Musk appears to have leaned more toward the Republican Party.
This may be partly due to the Biden Administration’s snub in 2021 after failing to invite Tesla to an EV summit.
“Let’s not forget that the White House gave Tesla the cold shoulder and excluded us from the EV summit,” Musk wrote in December, more than two years after the attack.
The firm donated $1 million, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (pictured) each contributed $250,000 last month.
The following year, he encouraged his Twitter followers to vote for a Republican Congress before the midterm elections.
After Musk purchased the social media platform Twitter in 2022, he reinstated Trump’s account after it was suspended in the wake of January 6.
Musk has generally opposed left-leaning “woke” policies and has echoed right-wing rhetoric on immigration.
“America will fall if it tries to take over the world,” Musk posted on X on Tuesday.
He also suggested that Democrats are “allowing large numbers of illegals to come in” to commit voter fraud, despite no evidence to support this.
At the start of the Republican primary season, Musk gave signals that… Supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Others involved with Lonsdale include former U.S. ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and her husband, Joe Craft.
DeSantis kicked off his campaign with a live-streamed interview with the billionaire, but that did not materialize into a donation.
Last month, Trump reiterated his commitment to immediately abandon the Biden administration’s “mandate” to support the electric vehicle industry. But he added: “I’m a big fan of electric cars. I’m a fan of Elon.”
“He does an incredible job with Tesla.”
Musk said they had “some conversations” and that Trump is a “big fan of Cybertrucks,” referring to Tesla’s electric pickup trucks.
While he has publicly criticized Biden’s policies on immigration and electric vehicles and even his age, Musk has not made any formal endorsements in the November race and Trump has said he does not know if he has Musk’s support.
Musk’s views have hurt his reputation among some consumers, according to a CivicScience survey.
