Elon Musk stands out as a unique case, as no American billionaire has ever been so invested in politics.
While they might not be the foremost in throwing significant chunks of money at vanity super PACs or buying favors for political support or positions in government in the current era, the origins of such practices can be traced to the period when Joseph Robbins and William Randolph Hearst waged war against each other’s newspapers. The Carmelite publishers have always been able to influence powers using their powers much akin to how Musk uses the social network, X.
However, Musk has taken this practice a step further. Instead, he has been recently warned by the Department of Justice of making such voter registration influences that are potential elements for criminal acts. He found nothing, to it, when it came to killing one of the Democratic vice presidential candidates, Kamala Harris, he authored innumerable lies about fraudulent elections in the U.S. and said it was a plus to his shareholders coming to the table since he was one of the people who helped campaign for the Republican nominee, President Donald Trump. Trump has promised to make Musk the head of a new “efficiency” task force to delete the entire federal government.
Musk is similar to many other billionaires in this regard including Toll Y bagged with his – it was funny how all that only slightly covered um politics. Musk did not answer an email seeking an interview, and America’s PAC did not give any comments in response to the correspondent’s request.
According to a 2023 investigation conducted by former Northwestern University professor of politics Daniel Krcmaric and his co-workers, the international Forbes billionaire list that involved holding or running for an appointed position saw about 11 percentage points worth of individuals. Of all of them, the data obtained less than 4 percentage points of activity occupations for the Americans while sociological working analysis conducted among some other selected rich people noted that many Americans of substantial wealth appeared very content not to get involved in direct politics. Secondly, more money and people seemed to be in support of the idea of being behind the scenes as is the case in the current position of Bezos. For example, Bezos is the second richest man on earth and controls Amazon’s operations, not to mention owning the Washington Post and channeling its editorial policy. Recently, he iterated that no one should assume that he has endorsed Harris. However, he does not exert influence over the newsroom that released the story.
“Musk is not like others in that respect, as for him probably everything is fair as long as everyone knows the kind of company he is in,” Krcmaric explained.
‘A Major Economic Game Changer’
In 2016, Musk made it vocally clear that he was not in support of President Trump’s win and things worsened whereby he even stepped out of the government advisory role in 2017 with protest as Trump pulled out from the Paris Climate Treaty. However, the president once described Musk as a crook, loon, and tore his ideas of machine-driven cars and space travel, simply suggesting to him that it was useless to the government since it offered no financial benefit, therefore Musk should get rid of all the taxpayer-supported junk. Therefore, Musk advised Trump to cease trying new things.
Earlier this year, Musk expressed doubts about getting deeply involved in Trump’s campaign, telling other billionaire donors that a Trump victory would be more beneficial for them. However, he understood the hesitance around making significant donations to efforts directly controlled by Trump. “He didn’t want to be the public face of this at all,” said someone who spoke with him in the spring. “He was trying to figure out how to support Trump without being associated with it.”
Now, the two men openly praise one another, and Trump’s advisors view Musk as a crucial ally. “Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation industry leader, and our broken federal bureaucracy could greatly benefit from his ideas and efficiency,” stated Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
The two speak regularly by phone, and Musk has met with Trump’s top political team, according to Trump advisers who, like others in this article, requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. Musk has frequently raised topics such as immigration, election rules, and censorship with Trump, sources said.
“They probably talk every other day,” said a close associate of Trump, who noted that the former president is impressed with Musk’s commitment and ability to draw crowds.
At a significant donor dinner in New York in September, Trump urged other donors to contribute as Musk does, according to an attendee. Musk, who was born in South Africa and reportedly began his career in the U.S. illegally, has found common ground with Trump over concerns about undocumented immigration and election fraud.
Musk currently ranks as the fourth largest donor in this election cycle, and his ranking may rise due to his recent spending pace. Campaign finance records indicate that Musk started donating to America PAC in early July, but he only announced his endorsement after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
“He believes that if Trump wins Pennsylvania, he wins the election. He’s told us that repeatedly. He’s treating this almost like a business deal,” said one Trump adviser. “He knows if he loses this election, he’s in trouble. The regulations, the attitude of a new Democratic administration, and the hostility they’ll have toward all the money he’s spent to support Trump — it’s a significant business risk for him.”
Musk has claimed that a victory for Harris “would destroy the Mars program and doom humanity.” In response, Trump has publicly supported Musk’s aim to accelerate a human mission to Mars, which SpaceX is contracted for, stating that Musk has assured him that the goal is achievable in the next presidential term.
“Get ready, Elon, get ready,” Trump said at an Oct. 19 campaign rally. “We gotta land it. We gotta do it quickly.”
However, Musk also frames his increased political involvement as a moral crusade to combat liberal social policies, uphold the U.S. Constitution, and resist the “big government machine.”
“If the Kamala machine wins, then we’ll see, I think, severe censorship,” he remarked at a recent rally. “That’s why I believe this is the last election.”
At a Trump rally in New York City on Sunday, Musk told Lutnick that he aims to cut “at least $2 trillion” from the approximately $6.5 trillion in annual federal spending. Achieving such a reduction would likely necessitate substantial cuts to the social safety net or a decision to default on federal debt.
The total discretionary federal budget for 2024, including military spending but excluding interest payments, Medicare, Social Security, and other mandatory programs, was $1.6 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“Elon, you are a genius,” Trump later said at the rally. “He is special. And you know what he wants more than anything else? For our country to be well-run.”
Musk also has extensive connections within the federal government through his various businesses. He claims to have “top-secret” security clearance, controls the aerospace company SpaceX—which has billions in federal contracts—runs the satellite internet service Starlink that can influence foreign battlefields, and oversees a car company currently under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration due to four self-driving accidents, one of which resulted in a pedestrian fatality.
‘The only big game in town’
Musk’s primary platform for entering the political arena is his new organization, America PAC, which has become one of the top independent spenders in key battleground states and congressional districts. According to a source familiar with the group’s operations, a network of subcontractors handles most of the door-to-door canvassing, earning about $50 per hour per canvasser. Recently, the PAC took over efforts from another pro-Trump organization, Turning Point, in Wisconsin.
“But we’ve done millions,” the source said. “It’s the only big game in town.”
In hurricane-affected North Carolina, the group has been airing a radio ad promoting Trump and offering free rides to the polls for those needing transportation. Another ad from the group repeatedly referred to Harris as “the ‘C Word,’” using a vulgar insult aimed at women, ultimately revealing that the word in this context is “communist.” (The ad was removed from the PAC’s X account on Monday.)
Among Musk’s political strategies is the direct payment of voters for their participation in the political process—a method gaining traction on both sides of the political spectrum as the swing-state voting landscape has narrowed. Tactics such as free beer, giveaways, sweepstakes, and voter recruitment programs attracting tens of thousands of voters have become common in Democratic-leaning areas of swing states, typically open to anyone in the region, regardless of voter status.
“There is a tremendous amount of resources going to convince the few persuadable in the few states that could influence the vote,” said Richard Hasen, a law professor at UCLA. “And there are lots of ways legally to slosh around a lot of money to influence those votes.”
Musk has taken this further. Initially, he offered to pay individuals $47 through America PAC to refer registered voters from seven swing states—Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada—to sign a petition. He then upped the incentive to $100 for each registered Pennsylvania voter who signs, along with an additional $100 for referring another registered voter from Pennsylvania. Musk also announced a daily drawing, promising a $1 million check to one petition signer.
Federal law prohibits individuals and organizations from bribing people to register to vote, and some election law experts argue that Musk’s current plan may violate this law, as it targets registered voters. The Justice Department has issued a warning letter regarding this approach, but Musk has continued with his strategy. On Monday, the Philadelphia district attorney filed civil litigation claiming that the America PAC initiative constitutes an “unlawful lottery.”
Musk’s supporters argue that there is no financial transaction tied to the registration process because voters would already be registered before signing. They contend that it isn’t a traditional sweepstakes since winners are expected to work for America PAC as spokespersons in exchange for the prize. If federal prosecution occurs, it would likely happen long after next week’s election, and a favorable court ruling for Musk could significantly alter the relationship between financial compensation and voting.
On his X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, Musk has sought to assert his influence differently, despite his public criticism of other news outlets for their role in shaping public narratives.
“I think it is far better for information to sort of bubble up from the voice of the people than to have it be decided by a handful of editors in chiefs of newspapers,” he remarked at a recent rally in Pennsylvania. “In America, people are starting to realize that the legacy media is just a propaganda machine.”
In 2023, Musk’s tweets reached wider audiences after changes to the algorithm that favored his account, which has 202 million followers. His activity on the platform surged, with the average number of weekly posts more than doubling from 2023 to 2024, according to Huge Inc., a design and technology firm that tracks his activity.
The share of his tweets focused on political topics has also increased significantly, rising from 2 percent in 2021 to 20 percent in September 2024 and reaching 25 percent this month, according to a Washington Post analysis.
