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Elon Musk spent at least $277 million in political contributions to support President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, according to documents filed late Thursday.
That sum, totaling more than a quarter of a billion dollars, likely makes Musk the single largest donor of the 2024 election. Other top donors this cycle included Timothy Mellon, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, and Miriam Adelson, all of whom spent more than $100 million to support Trump and the GOP.
Musk, the owner of X and the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, is now set to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency initiative under the incoming Trump administration.
Here's a look at where Musk's millions went this election cycle.
Documents filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that as of November 25, Musk had contributed just shy of $239 million to his personal super PAC, America PAC.
That super PAC, almost entirely funded by Musk, would go on to spend $154.5 million directly on canvassing efforts and digital ads to support Trump and oppose Vice President Kamala Harris.
More than $19 million went toward supporting GOP House candidates in 18 battleground districts, 10 of whom ultimately won their races.
The most intriguing revelation from the documents, however, was the amount of money that went toward America PAC's controversial voter giveaways, in which registered voters received $47 or $100 for signing a petition and had a chance to receive $1 million.
Records show that $40.5 million went toward paying voters for signing the petition, while an additional $18 million — $1 million apiece — went to 18 people, each of whom was paid for being a "spokesperson consultant."
Separately from America PAC, Musk was revealed to be the sole funder of a super PAC that ran ads comparing Trump's position on abortion to that of the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Musk contributed $20.5 million via a trust to RBG PAC, which ran ads highlighting a pledge that there would be no federal abortion ban under Trump's watch.
Under President Trump, there will be no abortion ban. Period.
— RBG PAC (@RBG_PAC) October 25, 2024
But there will be better jobs, a strong economy, and a brighter future for our families. pic.twitter.com/hYqey3KfHg
Clara Spera, an abortion-rights lawyer who's also Ginsburg's granddaughter, told The New York Times in October that the PAC was "an affront to my late grandmother's legacy."
"The use of her name and image to support Donald Trump's reelection campaign, and specifically to suggest that she would approve of his position on abortion, is nothing short of appalling," Spera said.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While America PAC and RBG PAC represented the bulk of Musk's spending, a handful of other groups also received money from him this election cycle.
He gave $10 million in October to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC linked to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and more than $2.3 million to Sentinel Action Fund. Both groups spent heavily on Senate elections.
Musk contributed $1 million to Early Vote Action PAC, which is led by the pro-Trump activist Scott Presler, along with $924,600 directly to Trump's campaign and hundreds of thousands of dollars to House Republicans' central campaign committee.
It's likely that Musk spent even more than what's publicly accounted for, including to "dark money" nonprofit groups that aren't required to disclose their donors.
He reportedly contributed to a dark-money group that gave $3 million to a super PAC that ran ads portraying Harris as simultaneously supportive of and hostile toward Israel.
Correction: December 6, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated Sentinel Action Fund's affiliation with the Heritage Foundation. The group was legally separated from Heritage's political infrastructure in 2023.
