Reflecting on his time taking a wrecking ball to the government last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently confessed to The Economist that he believes he “got a little too involved in politics, got carried away, frankly.” But not so carried away, apparently, so as to deter him from trying again.
Axios, citing sources with knowledge of the plan, reported that Musk is “jumping into the midterms with a huge investment in a plan to boost Republican voter turnout.” He’s doing that by “resuscitating his dormant super PAC, America PAC, which spent more than $260 million to help get President Trump elected in 2024.” (An America PAC spokesperson told Axios that “we’re excited to again be part of the team.”) Musk’s backing of the operation gave him the plutocratic distinction of being the single-biggest political donor in a political cycle in American history.
Even as Musk seeks to boost the fortunes of the GOP, he also comes with potential political costs.
But that doesn’t mean his money will be as effective this time around. Musk has revealed himself since then to be erratic and frequently self-defeating in his political maneuvering. And given that his favorability has tanked and is underwater, he provides Democrats with a ready-made villain in the election cycle.
So far, Musk has reportedly authorized America PAC to spend $100 million to $120 million. But it cannot be assumed that the commitment is rock solid, nor should we expect that it will necessarily rise to match the amount he committed in 2024. He has shown himself to be a fickle friend, and he might not be as invested in the outcome as before.
Last year Musk and Trump had a tumultuous relationship as chummy pals, then enemies and then, perhaps, awkward frenemies. Trump rewarded Musk by putting him in charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which caused chaos by disrupting agencies, including the Social Security Administration, and entirely dismantling them for distributing international aid. Then, after DOGE failed to achieve its goal of cutting federal spending, Musk abruptly slunk off from the White House.
Musk has also demonstrated sensitivity to the blowback he gets, responding in unexpected ways. For example, he has melted down in response to accurate claims that he bears responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people because of his shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development. And when he was feeling sick of the GOP last year, he floated the idea of launching a brand new political party.
Even with significant and steady resources, the question of how much America PAC’s get-out-the-vote operations affect races is murky. A 2024 Washington Post analysis observed that even though the group was particularly focused on voters in Pennsylvania, there was “no evidence that Pennsylvania was unusually supportive of Trump and some evidence that it was less supportive than other states.” That doesn’t mean we should rule out the possibility that America PAC’s operations could be effective, but there’s reason to be skeptical of some of the 2024 hype.
And even as Musk seeks to boost the fortunes of the GOP, he also comes with potential political costs. His reputation on the left has transformed over the past few years from widely admired tech entrepreneur to partisan racist oligarch who raises his arm in gestures that resemble Nazi salutes and throws tantrums over being asked to answer for his abhorrent brutality toward the global poor. And along the way, he also became a trillionaire (briefly), which makes him even more of a cartoonish antagonist. It’s hard to imagine a better bogeyman for Democrats to bring up in their messaging as they try to rally voters and remind them about the need to unite against fat cats trying to subvert their will.
None of this is to suggest that the GOP isn’t going to be excited about news of America PAC re-entering the fray — the party is desperately in need of help as it struggles in the polls. But his rescue attempt won’t necessarily be reliable or successful, especially given the scope of the party’s crisis.
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