Despite a very public falling-out with former President Donald Trump, Elon Musk has quietly emerged as the single largest donor to Republican campaign committees gearing up for next year’s U.S. midterm elections, according to new filings.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records released Thursday show that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO donated $5 million each on June 27 to the two main Super PACs backing Republican candidates for the House and Senate. The contributions come just days before Musk publicly floated the idea of launching a rival political party — the so-called “America Party.”
The donations are raising eyebrows across the political spectrum, given Musk’s recent pledge to scale back political spending following frustrations with GOP losses and growing backlash against his business empire. His own political action committee, America PAC, which had supported Trump’s reelection and conservative candidates in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, is reportedly down to less than $200,000 after receiving $45 million from Musk.
Much of that money went toward supporting Brad Schimel, a conservative candidate for Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court who lost his race by a 10-point margin — a result that reportedly left Musk disillusioned with his political strategy.
Musk’s rocky alliance with Trump reached a breaking point earlier this summer. After publicly criticizing the administration’s flagship tax and spending bill as “pork-filled,” Musk further inflamed tensions by referencing Trump’s alleged ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In retaliation, Trump threatened to cancel federal contracts with Musk’s companies — including Starlink and SpaceX — and even went as far as suggesting the South African-born billionaire could be deported.
Yet, despite the heated rhetoric and Musk’s dramatic July 5 announcement that he would dedicate the next year to defeating GOP candidates, there’s been no substantive action to formalize the “America Party.” No filings have been made at the state or federal level, and political observers have seen little sign of infrastructure-building on the ground.
Still, recent remarks from Trump suggest that tensions may be thawing. “I want Elon’s businesses to thrive,” the former president said earlier this week, hinting at a possible reconciliation between the two once-powerful allies.
