Elon Musk has donated roughly $75m over the last three months to his pro-Donald Trump spending group, underscoring how the billionaire has become crucial to the Republican candidate’s efforts to win the US presidential election.
Filings submitted by America Pac on Tuesday to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) showed Musk donated $15m (£12m) in July, $30m in August and another $30m in September. Musk remains the political action committee’s only donor.
America Pac has quietly become the principal ground game partner for the Trump campaign, doing the bulk of the voter turnout work across the battleground states, according to people familiar with the matter.
America Pac’s presence of roughly 400 canvassers per state dwarfs that of the Trump campaign itself, as well as other groups involved in voter turnout. It is also the only group with ambitions to complete three “passes” of target voters before the November election.
If Trump wins on account of America Pac’s field operation, it could give Musk increased leverage over him. Trump has already floated the idea of having Musk in his cabinet in a second term.
A Trump spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to the FEC filings, America Pac has so far spent roughly $30m – or 40% of its funding – on its ground game operation for Trump alone. The remainder has gone to field work for down-ballot candidates and mail and digital ads for Trump.
Musk has been increasing his personal involvement in Trump’s campaign. On Wednesday he announced that he would be travelling to the must-win state of Pennsylvania for the final stretch of the election cycle to give “a series of talks”.
Musk’s personal political views appear to have taken a sharp turn to the right this election, after previously identifying himself publicly as aligned with the Democrats. He endorsed Trump in July and appeared on stage at Trump’s second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.
The shift appears to have started earlier than previously known. Musk has been donating to conservative causes for years, the Wall Street Journal reported this month, giving tens of millions of dollars to rightwing groups.
In 2022, Musk spent more than $50m to fund anti-immigrant and anti-transgender advertisements by a group called Citizens for Sanity. The group’s officers are employees of America First Legal, a non-profit organisation led by the Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
He also has donated millions to another rightwing group, Building America’s Future, which has focused on reducing Kamala Harris’s support among Black voters. The group has also launched advertising criticising Joe Biden and Harris for their policy for the Mexican border.
Separate FEC filings on Tuesday showed that Miriam Adelson, the casino magnate, singularly donated $95m to another pro-Trump Super Pac, Preserve America Pac.
