Elon Musk allies help start pro-Trump super PAC
Some of Elon Musk’s closest friends have helped start a new super political action committee meant to help former President Donald Trump, creating an avenue for Musk and his $250 billion fortune to potentially play a significant role in the 2024 presidential race.
The group, America PAC, is likely to draw significant support from Musk, according to three people close to the group who spoke on the condition of anonymity; it is not confirmed whether he has already donated. The group’s founding donors span Musk’s social circle and include a tight-knit network of wealthy tech entrepreneurs who frequently finance one another’s startups, philanthropic projects and favored political candidates.
Musk had not donated to the super PAC as of June 30, the end of the most recent disclosure period, according to a Monday filing with the Federal Election Commission. But his tilt to the right, especially in his commentary on his social media site X, has left Republicans hoping he will wade more into funding conservative candidates and causes. On Saturday, soon after Trump survived an assassination attempt, Musk went on X to issue a full-throated endorsement of the former president.
The super PAC, according to three people close to the organization, is led in part by Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of software company Palantir and a politically ambitious venture capitalist in Austin, Texas, who serves as a political confidant to Musk. Lonsdale, the people say, has played a key role in fundraising for the group in its opening weeks, encouraging his network of influential entrepreneurs to support the super PAC. His personal company donated $1 million to the group.
The top early donors to America PAC include several powerful conservatives from the tech industry. Contributions include $1 million from Antonio Gracias, a private-equity mogul and a board director at SpaceX; $1 million from Ken Howery, an early executive at PayPal alongside Musk and who served as Trump’s ambassador to Sweden; and $500,000 from Shaun Maguire, an investor at Sequoia Capital who is close to Musk.
The group has released few details about its operations and its strategy, other than that it has been running field and digital programs on behalf of the former president, mostly encouraging early and mail-in voting. People close to it say that a key operative is Dave Rexrode, a top political operative who most recently has served as a key ally to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
America PAC, whose existence was first reported by The New York Times, has spent about $15 million on behalf of Trump over the past few weeks, turning heads among Trump’s allies. It raised $9 million in the month after it was founded.
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