Elon Musk secretly funded a conservative political group in recent years, according to four people familiar with his donations, even before the billionaire entrepreneur endorsed former President Donald Trump’s re-election bid in July. Provides examples of quiet financial support for right-wing causes.
Musk’s contribution to the organization, called Building America’s Future, was slated to begin by 2022, two people familiar with the donation told Reuters.
One of those people and a third source said the donations amounted to millions of dollars, providing a major boost to the group, whose ads and social media campaigns have criticized the Biden administration and the kind of progressive political platforms that Musk runs. Has himself condemned.
Reuters was unable to determine an exact amount and timeline for the contribution or identify a document linking the organization’s finances to Musk. Earlier on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had funded other Republican supporter groups.
Musk did not respond to an email seeking comment.
A spokesperson for Building America’s Future also did not comment.
Car maker Tesla, space contractor SpaceX and social media platform As recently as March, just months after he publicly endorsed Trump and announced plans to fund a political action committee to work against the Democrat , he wrote on social media: “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to any US presidential candidate.”
However, donations to Building America’s Future would reveal that he was already using his vast resources for right-wing purposes. As a nonprofit 501(c)(4) group, the organization is not required to disclose its financial supporters under federal law.
Although such groups are not allowed to finance candidates’ political campaigns, they may support political causes. Thus, they are commonly known as “dark money” groups – used by political activists, Democrats and Republicans alike, to hide the financial origins of influence campaigns.
In Musk’s case, four people familiar with his donations told Reuters, contributions to building America’s future were closely monitored. Three of these people were informed about the donation by officials of the organization or associated with it, and the fourth was advised on the matter by a Musk associate.
All spoke to Reuters on the condition that they not be identified by name.
“Kamala stop shouting”
Revenue at Building America’s Future is set to rise from about $11 million in 2021 to about $53 million in 2022, according to government data, two of the people said, adding that Musk has already started his donation. These figures are the latest available from the Internal Revenue Service, which requires tax-exempt organizations to disclose their revenues.
It’s unclear whether Musk still funds the organization or how much he may have donated in total.
Over the past two years, Building America’s Future has attacked the Biden administration on a number of topics, including illegal immigration, an issue on which Musk frequently comments. An anti-immigration video recently posted online by the group claims that Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the November election, has “led the onslaught” of migrants at the Mexican border and always “puts illegals first.” Placed in place.”
Building America’s Future also recently launched a $10 million ad campaign to drum up black support for Harris, according to an August report by NBC News. The campaign criticizes the White House’s effort to ban menthol cigarettes. Research shows that cigarettes, long marketed to African-Americans, are even more dangerous to smokers’ health than regular tobacco.
“Instead of focusing on important issues, Biden’s priority is to ban menthol cigarettes,” one video said, trying to tell adults “what they can and can’t do.”
Musk’s political leanings have moved toward the right in recent years.
Although he has said he has voted for Democratic presidential candidates, including Biden and Hillary Clinton, Musk became a vocal critic of the current administration, claiming the White House gave Tesla and SpaceX “a very cold shoulder.” A White House spokesman declined to comment.
Musk, ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest person, has also become a staunch critic of identity politics. He has used his frequent posts on X to promote patently false conspiracy theories about Jewish people, immigrants, and an impending “civil war” in Britain.
After Musk recently embraced Trump, the former president said he would put Musk in charge of the Government Efficiency Commission if elected.
Musk’s America PAC, a political action committee, recently said it was funding, according to federal election filings, a get-out-the-vote campaign this week to encourage underrepresented voters to support Trump. 77 million dollars have been spent on the vote campaign. Musk’s exact financial contributions to America PAC are unclear.
In addition to their Musk links, America PAC and Building America’s Future overlap in terms of personnel, according to election filings and people familiar with the operations of both groups. One of those people is Genera Peck, the former campaign manager for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and now one of the key leaders of America PAC. Peck did not respond to a request for comment.
Like Building America’s Future, America PAC’s message includes aggressive personal criticisms of Harris. Flyers distributed by the group in Arizona, reviewed by Reuters, feature photos of the vice president laughing and read: “Stop scolding Kamala.”