①According to documents, Musk donated $10 million to the Republican Party last month for midterm election campaigns; ②In the 2024 general election, Musk contributed over $250 million to the Republican Party and Trump, with his total political spending last year reaching $75 million; ③Musk's donations are not unusual among technology entrepreneurs and may indicate his renewed pursuit of financial influence within the Republican political arena.
Cailian Press reported on February 2 (edited by Ma Lan) that the world’s richest man, Musk, publicly clashed with U.S. President Trump over the "Big and Beautiful Act," which led to his resignation from the Department of Government Efficiency, marking a split between the entrepreneur and the current U.S. administration. However, Musk seems to have mended his relationship with the Trump administration once again.
In January, Musk donated $10 million to the ruling Republican Party to help it promote its campaign in the upcoming midterm elections. Moreover, relations between Musk and Trump appear to have significantly improved. According to the latest reports, last Sunday, Musk attended a wedding of one of Trump’s aides at Mar-a-Lago, accompanied by a guest.
According to Federal Election Commission documents released last Saturday, Musk donated $5 million each to the main fundraising organizations supporting Republican Senate and House candidates. Additionally, he added several million dollars to his own political fund.
However, compared to the funds Musk invested during the 2024 general election, this amount is relatively small. At that time, Musk donated more than $250 million to the Republican Party and Trump, while his total political expenditures last year reached $75 million.
Following the breakdown of his relationship with Trump, Musk publicly criticized him, alleging connections to the Epstein case, and announced plans to establish a third-party political party, the "American Party," to fulfill his political ambitions. This plan was later shelved.
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According to Trump’s super political action committee, “Make America Great Again (MAGA),” the organization has already raised $304 million for the 2026 election campaign. Another political action committee (PAC) associated with Trump received over $30 million in donations in December last year, including contributions from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife, as well as the cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com.
Other major Republican donors disclosed on Saturday include casino magnate Steve Wynn and Blackstone Chairman Stephen Schwarzman, who each donated $5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund at the end of last year. Wynn also contributed $2 million to related congressional funds.
Fairshake, a fundraising organization supported by some cryptocurrency industry giants, announced last week that it had raised $193 million to support Republican candidates in the midterm elections who are favorable to the crypto sector.
Musk’s donations are not uncommon among tech entrepreneurs but may signify his efforts to regain financial influence within the Republican political sphere. Notably, during his tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Tesla’s market value plummeted by tens of billions of dollars, leading to the cancellation of some Starlink contracts.
This comes at a time when the U.S. government is facing protests over the Minnesota shooting incident, with many tech workers urging their companies to distance themselves from the U.S. government. As such, Musk's renewed outreach to the Trump administration could potentially trigger a consumer boycott in the U.S., resulting in financial losses for his companies.
Editor/Jayden