New Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings from Elon Musk show that he spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars of his own money in order to help Donald Trump win the 2024 election — and provided a significant amount of funding to a political action committee (PAC) whose sole aim was to deceive voters.
The bulk of Musk’s spending was for America PAC, his own super PAC that engaged in text-messaging efforts to get out the vote, funded other canvassing efforts, and spent heavily on digital advertising in support of Trump. The PAC was also responsible for Musk’s $1 million daily giveaway scheme, which implored people to register to vote and to sign a petition he made in support of conservative ideals.
Despite Musk insinuating that winners of the giveaway would be selected at random — similarly to a lottery — winners were chosen based on who Musk’s team thought would be an effective right-wing spokesperson.
Musk also invested $20.5 million into an organization called RBG PAC, a group that aimed to mislead voters on Trump’s views on abortion rights, errantly suggesting they were similar to those of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Clara Spera, Ginsburg’s granddaughter, called the messaging from that PAC “nothing short of appalling,” as Trump’s three appointments to the Supreme Court — including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who replaced Ginsburg shortly after her passing — hold anti-abortion views.
All of the money that PAC received came from Musk’s single donation, NBC News reported.
In response to the news of Musk’s huge expenditures in the 2024 race, journalist Michelangelo Signorile said that the billionaire will undoubtedly see benefits from his investment in getting Trump elected.
Musk “pretty much owns Trump and the GOP and they will give him everything he wants,” Signorile wrote on Bluesky.
Indeed, Musk is poised to play a role in the Trump administration. Along with Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk is set to lead the yet-to-be-officially-formed “Department of Government Efficiency,” which will ostensibly seek to cut government waste and increase efficiency within federal bureaucracies.
Musk’s stated goal of gutting the federal government by $2 trillion, however, will unquestionably lead to cuts for programs millions of Americans depend on — including likely some popular safety net programs like Social Security. Musk has warned that there may be “economic hardship” for people who will be negatively affected by his project’s cuts.
Notably, Musk will not be the only billionaire within the Trump administration — in fact, it appears that, if all of Trump’s nominations and appointments go through, the Trump White House will feature 14 billionaires in cabinet or other advisory roles (including Trump himself), with the possibility of more appointments to the ultra-rich yet to be made in the coming days.
The combined net worth of Trump’s nominees is an astonishing $340 billion, showcasing the oligarchic nature of his incoming administration. For comparison, an analysis of President Joe Biden’s cabinet found that they were worth a combined $118 million.
David Sirota, founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever, noted that billionaires want to serve in the Trump administration for selfish reasons.
“Elon Musk could be in a job where he could shape the government to enrich the companies that Elon Musk owns,” Sirota said last month, following Trump’s win. “This is what money in politics really is. It is an investment. And the investors, the donors, like billionaires, are looking for a return on their investment. That’s what this is, a business strategy.”
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