Musk donates to group working for Trump

WASHINGTON: Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been ramping up criticism of US President Joe Biden, has donated to a political group working to elect rival presidential candidate Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources.

The report did not indicate how much Musk donated but added it was “a sizable amount” given to a group called America PAC. Bloomberg reported that the PAC — a group that can receive unlimited contributions for political activity — is next required to disclose its list of donors on July 15. In March, Trump, a former US president who is expected to be formally nominated next week as the Republican Party’s candidate for the Nov 5 election, met with Musk and other wealthy donors.

In response to reports of the meeting, South Africa-born Musk posted on X: “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US president.” In May, he also denied media reports that there had been talks over a potential advisory role for him in any Trump presidency. Musk, the world’s richest person who runs electric car maker Tesla, rocket maker SpaceX, social media company X and other companies, did not respond to request for comments.

Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said that Musk knows Trump is “a sucker who will sell America out, cutting his taxes while raising taxes on the middle class by $2,500.”

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2024