The world’s richest man, Elon Musk spent a total of more than $290 million on the 2024 election, new federal filings show, helping Donald Trump and Republicans to gain power.
The year-end filings covered the final five weeks of the year.
Trump’s old campaign committee despite being term-limited — hauled in nearly $21 million in the period. Meanwhile, a top allied super PAC received several million-dollar contributions, including $1 million from the administration’s nominee for ambassador to the UK, on the day he was tapped to serve.
The Democratic National Committee also spent heavily in the weeks following the party’s losses in 2024, dropping more than $56 million settling headquarters expenses, paying legal fees, and soliciting its voters’ feedback and funds.
The new filings with the Federal Election Commission on Friday, January 31, showed that Musk put about $11.2 million into his main super PAC, America PAC, on the final day of the year which brought his total political giving for the cycle to more than $290 million, a massive sum rivalled by only a handful of competing mega-donors.
Musk’s end-of-the-year contributions were earmarked for “petition incentives,” related to the million-dollar giveaways that he organized through the super PAC in the home stretch of the race. Those giveaways aimed at encouraging voter registration. The move drew legal challenges, though they were ultimately allowed to continue.
The latest filing from Musk’s super PAC shows that the giveaways cost him a total of more than $50 million, out of the more than $290 million that he spent on the 2024 election.
Musk’s donations in 2024 were mostly aimed at supporting Trump; about a quarter of a billion dollars that he gave went to America PAC, the main super PAC that Musk formed for the election.
Musk also gave millions to several other super PACs and outside groups that supported a range of GOP candidates, and he cut $10,000 checks to dozens of state Republican Party committees.
The report also revealed how after the election, Trump converted his 2024 campaign account into a leadership PAC, a type of committee with which he can continue to raise and spend funds for political purposes. The committee, now called Never Surrender, reported nearly $21 million in total receipts during the final five weeks of the year.
