From pouring $US75 million ($114 million) into campaign efforts, to promising voters in swing states they can win $US1 million ($1.5 million) by signing his political petition, Musk isn’t afraid to spend big on Trump’s presidential bid.
But his role as one of the Republican candidate’s biggest — and certainly wealthiest — supporters has raised plenty of questions.
From Musk’s claims that he had previously supported exclusively Democratic candidates, to social media sledges against Trump in the past, his vocal presence at pro-Trump rallies surprised some.
Does Elon Musk support Trump?
The long answer is that Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, has become a key player in the US election as one of Trump’s most vocal supporters and one of the Republican candidate’s biggest campaign donors.
In the last three months alone, he’s poured that $US75 million ($114 million) into the America PAC — a political action group he established specifically to back Trump in the election — according to US Federal Election Commission filings.
As well as supporting Trump’s campaign financially, Musk has made several high-profile appearances at pro-Trump rallies, where he’s taken to the stage in custom Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats and literally jumped for joy.
The Tesla CEO has also leveraged X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform he purchased for $US44 billion ($66.8 billion) in 2022, to promote Trump as Election Day approaches.
At the time of writing, Musk’s X profile picture shows him in a MAGA hat and his feed is peppered with posts praising Trump, and attacking Democratic candidate Harris.
Some of the posts have been criticised for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Most recently, Musk landed in legal hot water over his promise to pay US voters from key swing states $US1 million ($1.5 million) to support a political petition defending the First and Second Amendments.
The billionaire stands to gain new political influence if Trump wins the US election on November 5; both men have spoken about the possibility of Musk holding some role in Trump’s administration if he secures a second term in the Oval Office.
In a recent Fox News appearance, Trump said he would create a new government role for Musk that would involve overseeing efforts to cut government spending, a job Trump said Musk is “dying to do”.
Critics have said this would be a serious conflict of interest.
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What has Elon Musk said about Trump?
Though Musk is hugely pro-Trump now, the men haven’t always seen eye-to-eye.
Back in 2022, Musk boldly claimed that it was “time for Trump to hang up his hat and sail into the sunset”, so his sudden about-face to supporting the Republican’s bid for a second term in office surprised some.
He made his vocal support for the businessman-turned-politician known in July after Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
About a month later, he invited Trump to take part in a lengthy, friendly interview on X, where they chatted over topics like the assassination attempt and illegal immigration for two hours.
“I think we’re at a fork in the road of destiny of civilisation and I think we need to take the right path,” Musk told Trump as the conversation ended.
“And I think you’re the right path.”
Since then, he’s spoken favourably of Trump.
Though Trump has hit out at the SpaceX CEO in the past, having previously dubbed Musk a “bullshit artist”, they seem friendly Musk is one of his biggest supporters.
Has Elon Musk appeared at a Trump rally?
His first outing was on October 6, a little less than one month before Election Day, when he joined Trump at a rally in Butler – the site of the first assassination attempt on the former president.
There Musk called Trump the only candidate “to preserve democracy in America”, cementing his endorsement for the Republican candidate.
Since then, the Tesla CEO has appeared at several more rallies, most recently Trump’s huge New York City rally on October 27.
Is Elon Musk’s $1 million voter sweepstakes legal?
On October 19, Musk attended a Trump rally in Pennsylvania and vowed to give away $US1 million ($1.5 million) to voters from key US swing states every day until Election Day on November 5.
He showed he was serious by delivering a check for $US1 million to an event attendee at the rally, which was hosted by the America PAC.
To be eligible, voters must be registered in one of seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – and must sign an online petition created by Musk.
“The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments,” it reads, per the America PAC website.
Registered voters from Pennsylvania can also receive $US100 for signing the petition, and $US1000 for referring another registered Pennsylvania voter to sign.
The legality of Musk’s campaign efforts have since been called into question, as it’s a federal crime in the US to pay individuals with the intent to inducing or rewarding them to cast a vote or to get registered, per Reuters.
Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner has now filed a lawsuit against Musk in a Pennsylvania state court in a bid to put a stop to his cash giveaways.