Elon Musk donated just under $75 million to his super PAC last quarter, according to just-released government filings, as the world’s richest man made his full splashy entry into presidential politics.
Tuesday’s filing is the culmination of an evolution for Musk, the the Tesla (TSLA) CEO, who first began quietly appearing at GOP fundraisers in 2022 but has gradually increased his involvement and memorably leapt onto stage with former President Trump earlier this month in Butler, Pa.
It also comes as an increasing vocal contingent of billionaires including Musk and other figures line up behind Donald Trump for the final stretch of the campaign.
The latest donation disclosure also comes at the Tesla (TSLA) stock remains under pressure this week amid lingering concerns that Musk is focused is too heavily on politics, especially after a robotaxi event this week that was panned for being “stunningly absent on detail.”
Musk’s donations to help Republicans totaled just under $15 million in July followed by $30 million in both August and September. It was a pace of spending somewhat below a report this summer that Musk was planning to donate $45 million each month, but it remains a massive haul.
The filings also show Musk as the only donor for his political action committee, called America PAC.
His group’s mission is centered around helping the Trump campaign and its ground game, especially in the must-win commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The group is also spending on other Republican congressional candidates around the country.
Musk confirmed the donations in posts on X and said the group was “just aiming for common sense, centrist values.” Also on Wednesday, Musk announced he would be traveling back to Pennsylvania for “a series of talks.”
The donations from Musk also came in addition to news of big checks from other ultra wealthy Americans — notably Miriam Adelson and Dick Uihlein — who also put a combined $145 million into other Trump-supporting groups in July, August and September, according to the filings.
But the super PAC behind Vice President Kamala Harris was also no slouch, with the Harris Victory Fund raising about $633 million in that same period.
The mass of new campaign finance data, which came following the government’s quarterly fundraising deadline, was just the latest example of a 2024 money race that has seen staggering totals.
Harris’s formal campaign operation has reportedly raised $1 billion since she entered the contest in addition to the wave of super PAC donations on both sides.
Musk’s donations are meanwhile unlikely to end some money troubles seen in the formal Trump campaign itself.
Trump’s official operation has been far outpaced by Harris in recent months. Trump himself is reportedly frustrated behind closed doors with the shortfalls and — in a move very unusual for this stage in the campaign — devoting time in the final weeks not just to campaigning for votes, but also fundraising.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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