Elon Musk is reportedly giving Trump another $100 million just after the President did an ad for Tesla at the White House.
During the last election cycle, Musk contributed more than $250 million to Trump’s campaign through donations to political action committees (PACs).
Trump has won, but he still needs money.
While he can’t seek reelection, the mid-term and Congress/Senate elections are coming. The GOP is looking to increase its control over the House and Senate. Furthermore, Trump doesn’t have the full support of the GOP, and Musk has made clear that he plans to invest money in the primaries against any GOP members who don’t support Trump.
Now, Axios and NYT report that Musk told the White House that he plans to contribute another $100 million in political donations to Trump and his PACs.
The news comes just a day after President Trump held a literal infomercial for Tesla, a company controlled by Musk, at the White House.
It raises concerns about the ad being a quid pro quo between Musk and Trump.
The publicity stunt also happened after Tesla’s stock crashed 15% the day before and 50% since its peak achieved in December.
Tesla’s stock price is important for Musk. It is his main source of wealth, and he often uses loans against the stock to finance his lifestyle and sometimes invest in other companies.
Electrek’s Take
It’s hard not to see that as a quid pro quo since Trump’s entire personality is about “making deals,” and he hasn’t been shy about asking for political contributions in exchange for favors before.
To me, it looks like Elon is panicking.
Tesla’s US sales amid protests against the company over Elon’s political involvement are likely badly affected, and this is his solution: to intertwin Tesla’s brand even further with the most controversial US President in modern history.
It’s so dumb. I am sure that Trump can help encourage a few people buy Tesla vehicles, but long term, this will hurt the brand even more.
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