Elon Musk spent at least $277M backing Trump and other Republicans, FEC filings show

Elon Musk gave at least $277 million in political donations this year to back Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, making him the largest political donor in the 2024 election cycle, according to an analysis of new Federal Election Commission filings by The Washington Post.

The billionaire’s total for the cycle is the largest from a single donor since at least 2010, outside of candidates funding their own campaigns, according to data from OpenSecrets.

Musk topped the second-largest donor, Tim Mellon, a fellow Trump megadonor and heir to the Pittsburgh banking family, by about $80 million, the filings released late Thursday show.

The massive influx of cash from Musk transformed the billionaire entrepreneur, known for his electric vehicle and space-related ventures, who rarely engaged with political candidates, into the country’s largest donor - and one of most prominent members of the president-elect’s inner circle.

Musk’s donations primarily went to America PAC, his super PAC quietly established in the spring to support Trump and other Republican candidates. It ran one of the most significant get-out-the-vote operations in support of Trump.

The filings also revealed that Musk gave $20.5 million to a previously mysterious PAC that sought to convince voters in the final days of the presidential election campaign that Donald Trump would refuse to sign a national ban on abortion.

Including that contribution, the new filings show Musk put $232 million into supporting Donald Trump and other Republican candidates before the Nov. 5 election, according to the new filings. He then gave nearly $45 million to America PAC from Election Day through Nov. 25. - some of which likely paid off pre-election expenses - taking his total political spending to at least $277 million.

The billionaire has said America PAC will also be active in the congressional midterm elections and some local races, where he hopes to overthrow progressive district attorneys across the country. The entirety of Musk’s donations this election cycle are not yet known and may not all be reflected in publicly available documents.

Business tycoons have long sought to shape the political landscape, but Musk has resources beyond his immense wealth that have thrilled longtime Republican strategists - and Trump himself. The billionaire owns a major social media platform, X, where he has more than 200 million followers and often posted about Trump during the campaign, essentially turning the site into a megaphone for the Republican candidate.

Musk, the world’s richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, also showed a willingness to use his celebrity to push political and legal boundaries during the campaign.

In addition to appearing at Trump rallies, he launched a daily $1 million giveaway for swing state voters. The Justice Department warned Musk that the giveaway could conflict with federal election laws, and Philadelphia’s district attorney unsuccessfully attempted to block it under Pennsylvania consumer protection laws.

Thursday’s filings show 18 individuals received $1 million “spokesperson consultant” payments from the super PAC in October and November.

The entrepreneur’s newfound power in conservative politics has led some Republicans to style him “the Soros of the right,” referring to billionaire investor and prolific liberal donor George Soros.

“It is noteworthy that he is the owner of one of these tech platforms and has been so out front and vocal for a specific candidate and prominent as a donor - you don’t typically see that combination,” said Eric Wilson, Republican digital strategist and the executive director of the Center for Campaign Innovation. “It is a true disruption of campaign finance and how donors approach this.”

Musk’s investment in Trump has made him into a close confidant of the president-elect and a frequent presence at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as he prepares to return to the White House. The tech entrepreneur has joined calls with world leaders, weighed in on Cabinet picks and was picked by Trump to co-chair a nongovernmental commission dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, that plans to make recommendations on slashing federal spending and regulation.

Backing Trump appears to have also benefited Musk’s businesses. His wealth has soared further since the election because of massive gains in the value of shares in Tesla, which is expected to benefit from streamlined regulation on autonomous driving during the new Trump administration.

In the final months of the election, Musk was one of the biggest individual donors of the campaign cycle, and his America PAC was regarded as one of the most prominent get-out-the-vote efforts for the Republican candidate. America PAC hired thousands of canvassers to knock on doors in battleground states across the country and encourage people to vote early.

America PAC also spent about $19 million on House races, where Musk’s presence was a welcome surprise to some candidates. In Michigan’s 7th District, for example, Musk’s America PAC spent nearly $1 million to support Republican Tom Barrett, who defeated his Democratic challenger and flipped the seat.

Barrett’s campaign spokesman, Jason Roe, said America PAC’s support was crucial, although just a fraction of the total spent campaigning for the seat. Barrett won by about 17,000 votes.

“We need more Elon Musks,” Roe said.