Tech billionaire Elon Musk has denied wanting to donate $45 million (approximately €41 million) monthly for the election campaign of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
In a message on his online platform X, Musk called a corresponding news report “ridiculous” on Tuesday. Although he does make some donations to the organization America PAC, they are at a “much lower level” than reported.
The Wall Street Journal had reported a week earlier that Musk intended to donate $45 million monthly to America PAC. The organization had recently been established to support the Republican’s presidential campaign, the report stated.
Days before this newspaper report, Musk formally expressed his support for Trump’s presidential candidacy. He announced his support shortly after the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally.
Musk had not commented on the Wall Street Journal’s report regarding his donations to America PAC for a week. His denial only came after President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not run for reelection and expressed his support for his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the new Democratic presidential candidate.
Musk has now justified his donations to America PAC – which he claims are significantly lower than reported – by citing the “key values” of this group. They support a “meritocracy and individual freedom.”
The term “meritocracy” refers to a form of society or government where the elites are determined based on their achievements. “The Republicans predominantly, but not entirely, stand on the side of achievement and freedom,” Musk wrote.
According to the Wall Street Journal, among the donors to America PAC are also Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of the data analytics company Palantir, and crypto investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
Individual campaign donations are capped at $3,300 per person in the U.S. However, the campaign financing system allows for larger sums to be donated to political organizations that in turn directly or indirectly support candidates.