The Tesla and X boss appeared to be responding to reports saying he visited President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on March 6 that he won’t donate any money to candidates in the 2024 presidential election, including former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden, following reports that Mr. Musk has visited President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and held discussions there.
Mr. Musk met with the former president last weekend along with other Republican donors, although few details were provided, according to reports that cited people who weren’t identified. The reports claimed that the former president was seeking donations because of low cash reserves.
“Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,” Mr. Musk, who is one of the world’s wealthiest men, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He didn’t mention either candidate by name, and he also didn’t comment on reports that he met with President Trump. The former president also hasn’t publicly commented on the matter.
Notably, Mr. Musk hasn’t made many political donations to candidates over the years, according to reports. He did contribute to a handful of 2018 midterm candidates, both Republican and Democrat.
He has long sought to cast himself as politically independent and has reportedly split donations fairly evenly between Democrats and Republicans over the years. Reports have said that he donated to President George W. Bush in 2004 and to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2007. He also donated to President Barack Obama’s campaign years later.
However, the SpaceX owner could donate to President Trump or another candidate through different avenues, including providing funds to a political action committee that backs either candidate.
With a net worth that Forbes magazine has put at about $200 billion, Mr. Musk has the resources to almost single-handedly offset the huge financial advantage that President Biden and his supporters are otherwise expected to wield in the 2024 general election campaign.
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