Seismic Shift: How Musk Changed His Stance on Donald Trump

Elon Musk may be a Trump supporter now, but that wasn’t always the case. The tech billionaire began coming around on the former president long before his public endorsement of the GOP nominee’s bid for a second White House term. According to The Washington Post, Musk made a pitch for Trump at least five months earlier during a gathering of billionaires and top political strategists at the oceanfront estate of Wendy’s co-founder Nelson Peltz in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Feb. 16 event was reportedly attended by a number of Trump skeptics, including former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, who argued that those assembled should give money to down-ballot candidates and state parties. Attendees who spoke with the Post on condition of anonymity said that Musk was sitting near Peltz at the center of the table and gave an overtly pro-Trump perspective.

According to the attendees, Musk began by saying he was not a big fan of the former president’s, but then talked at length about illegal immigration. The U.S. economy and American land were being threatened by the millions of illegal immigrants that President Joe Biden was letting in, Musk said, but Trump would shut down the border and stop the illegal crossings.

The Tesla CEO also reportedly asked people in the room to tell their friends to vote for Trump, as he had learned from his promotion of his electric vehicles that word-of-mouth endorsement was critical. The Post reported that some people winced at Musk’s words, while others shook their heads.

Although he was supportive, Musk was reportedly concerned that Trump might use contributions to pay his growing legal bills – a concern shared by other potential donors. Appearing on campaign disclosure forms might be something that some might want to avoid as well, he acknowledged.

So, he floated the idea of giving to an outside group and helped launch America PAC in May, which raised $8.5 million – largely from Silicon Valley – in just over a month. While Musk has indicated he will donate, he denied the report that he would bankroll the group to the tune of $45 million a month.

For the world’s richest person, who preferred Biden in 2020, the Palm Beach event marked a seismic political shift. In the three years since the Democrat took office, Musk’s relationship with Biden’s administration has steadily deteriorated.

The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have launched investigations into Tesla’s marketing of its driver-assistance technologies, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a recall of nearly every Tesla due to concerns about driver inattention. The SEC also opened a probe into social media platform X, which Musk acquired in 2022.

Analysts and investors the Post spoke with said a second Trump term would be much more favorable for Musk, as the Republican president could scuttle federal scrutiny of Tesla and X, as well as a National Labor Relations Board investigation into harassment allegations at SpaceX. With Trump back in the White House, he could also help cut regulatory tape for Tesla as the company seeks to deliver a fully autonomous personal vehicle.

The Republican platform calls for increased satellite investment and accelerated space exploration, two objectives which could benefit SpaceX and Starlink, Musk’s satellite business. Clare Hopper, chief of Space Systems Command’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office, told the Post she is already requesting an additional $12 billion in federal contracts over the next 10 years for “low-Earth orbit satellites” in anticipation of strong military demand.

“In the Biden administration, Musk has been an afterthought at best,” Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, told the outlet. “In the Trump administration, if he won a second term, Musk would be front and center.”