A meeting between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has sparked speculation that the Tesla boss could be about to fund the presidential hopeful’s campaign.
The two met Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, along with some wealthy Republican donors, according to the New York Times.
Trump and his team are desperately seeking a cash injection to boost his presidential campaign.
Musk is currently the second richest man in the world, with a fortune estimated at $200 billion.
The former president has privately praised the tech mogul to allies and hopes to secure a face-to-face meeting soon, according to a source.
Elon Musk met with Donald Trump amid the presidential candidate’s attempt to raise more funds for his campaign.
The Tesla boss met with the presidential candidate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, according to sources.
While he has not endorsed any candidate, Musk has been highly critical of the Biden administration lately.
On Tuesday, he reshared a DailyMail.com article detailing how 320,000 unauthorized immigrants had been allowed into the United States and warned that it is “highly likely that the groundwork is being laid for something far worse than 9/11.” “.
People close to Musk also confirmed that he believes Biden should be removed from office in November, according to the NYT.
However, her relationship with Trump has previously been somewhat tumultuous.
In 2017, he resigned from two business advisory boards following Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
In 2022, Trump insulted him and Musk responded that it was time for the former president to “sail into the sunset.”
Unlike other billionaires, Musk has not spent much on political donations and has previously donated to both Republicans and Democrats.
He has personally provided funding to politicians such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Marco Rubio, George W. Bush and John Kerry.
People close to Musk also confirmed that he believes Biden should be removed from office in November.
Unlike other billionaires, Musk has not spent much on political donations and has previously donated to both Republicans and Democrats, including Barack Obama.
His companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have benefited from federal government contracts and subsidies.
However, in recent years Musk has apparently leaned more toward the Republican Party.
This may be due in part to a snub from the Biden administration in 2021 after Tesla was not invited to an electric vehicle summit.
“Let’s not forget that the White House turned its back on Tesla, excluding us from the electric vehicle summit,” Musk wrote in December, more than two years after the farce.
The following year, he encouraged his followers on X, formerly Twitter, to vote in a Republican Congress before the midterm elections.
But even before that it was revealed as one of the biggest donors to a PAC aimed at keeping Congress Republicans control the House of Representatives in 2018.
Most recently he appeared to criticize podcast host Bill Maher, who said he would vote for Biden over Trump in almost all circumstances.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a very real illness,” Musk wrote on X on Monday.
Musk criticized Biden’s immigration policy, citing a DailyMail.com article detailing how 320,000 unauthorized immigrants have been allowed into the United States.
But his relationship with Trump has been rocky before, and the two will trade barbs in 2022.
After purchasing the social media platform in 2022, he reinstated Trump’s account after it was suspended following January 6.
Musk has generally criticized left-leaning “woke” policies and parroted right-wing rhetoric on immigration.
“America will fall if it tries to absorb the world,” Musk posted on X on Tuesday.
He also suggested that Democrats are “introducing large numbers of illegals” to commit voter fraud, even though there is no evidence to support it.
Musk has been scathing of Biden, raising questions about his age and joking that he was “still sleeping” after failing to compliment one of his companies.
But his support for Trump was far from guaranteed. In 2015, Musk said he would be “embarrassing” if Trump were nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, a criticism he repeated before Election Day.
There were early signs this election cycle that he might have endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis kicked off his campaign with a live-streamed interview with the billionaire, however, this did not materialize into a donation.