Elon Musk isn't finished
While some House races remain uncalled as the counting of votes continues, the 2024 election season is effectively over, with President-elect Donald Trump headed to the White House. But one of his biggest supporters isn’t ready to stop.
“Normally, PACs go somewhat dormant after a big election,” Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote early Tuesday morning on X (META), the social media site he owns.
“@America PAC is going to do the opposite and keep grinding, increasing Republican registrations in key districts around the country, in preparation for special elections and the midterms,” Musk said. “And, of course, play a significant role in primaries.”
Musk was referring to America PAC, the super PAC that he launched earlier this year. The group has received donations from a number of major tech and venture capital figures, such as the billionaire Winklevoss twins and Ken Howery, a former ambassador to Sweden and co-founder of PayPal (PYPL).
Musk has been, by far, the biggest backer of the group, which spent an estimated $200 million to help elect Trump, according to the Associated Press. America PAC raised $130 million between April and mid-October, according to campaign finance filings, most of which came from Musk.
Read more: Musk is already flexing his influence with Trump. Here’s how
Musk’s work has brought him closer to Trump, a dynamic he has already used to join a phone call with a foreign leader and lobby for his preferred candidate for Senate majority leader. He’s expected to serve in some capacity, leading a commission dedicated to slashing government spending and regulation. He’s chosen a $2 trillion target for his cuts, a huge sum consideringthe $6.75 trillion spent so far in fiscal year 2024.
America PAC primarily worked on advertisements — which leaned into sexist attacks — and get-out-the-vote work in battleground states, such as Nevada and Pennsylvania, courting controversy in the process. After WIRED reported on the group’s shady practices concerning door-knockers in Michigan, a crew of canvassers was fired and stranded in a state where most of them didn’t live.
The most attention-grabbing stunt was Musk’s $1 million-a-day giveaway to voters who signed a petition supporting free speech and gun rights. Although Musk said the giveaway would be random, America PAC later said winners were pre-selected as spokespeople for the group and that the $1 million was their salary.
“There is no prize to be won,” Chris Gober, the group’s lawyer, said in court last week. “Instead, recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as a spokesperson for the PAC.”
Two lawsuits were brought against the PAC over the giveaway, alleging that Musk and his group “profited” from the contest by driving traffic to X and collecting personal data that can be sold. A third was filed on Monday, accusing Musk and America PAC of fraud and breach of contract. Canvassers have sued America PAC and others over an alleged failure to reimburse business expenses and providing inaccurate wage statements.
