Musk sends more money to back Trump, giving $44 mln to super PAC
Musk's America PAC spent over $47 million in early October
Trump campaign spent more than $88 million on ads, raised $16 million
By Jason Lange and Alexandra Ulmer
WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) -Elon Musk gave about $44 million to his pro-Donald Trump spending group during the first half of October, federal disclosures showed on Thursday, as the billionaire stepped up his efforts for the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 election.
The contributions, disclosed in a filing to the Federal Election Commission by Musk's America PAC group, come after a prior report showed he gave the group around $75 million over three months between July and September.
America PAC, which is focused on turning out voters in closely contested states that could decide the election, also disclosed spending more than $47 million in the first half of October.
The Trump campaign is broadly reliant on outside groups for canvassing voters, meaning the super PAC founded by Musk - the world's richest man - plays an outsized role in what is expected to be a razor-thin election between Trump and Vice President KamalaHarris.
Separately, Trump's campaign reported spending more than $88 million on ads in the first half of the month, leaving him with $36 million in the bank for the final stretch of campaigning, according to a separate filing to the Federal Election Commission. Trump's campaign raised $16 million during the period.
Harris campaign, which has outraised and outspent Trump's campaign in recent months, has not yet filed a report detailing her campaign's finances in the first half of the month.
Another conservative super PAC, the Sentinel Action Fund, also reported receiving $2.3 million from Musk.
Musk's donations to America PAC propel him into the exclusive club of Republican mega donors, a list that also includes banking heir Timothy Mellon and casino billionaire Miriam Adelson.
As part of its plan to stir support for Trump, America PAC has been giving away $1 million per day to a randomly selected signatory of its online petition, which is only open to registered voters in battleground states.
The Justice Department sent a letter to America PAC warning that the giveaways may violate federal law, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The petition falls into a gray area of election law, and legal experts are divided about whether Musk could be running afoul of prohibitions on paying people to register to vote.
America PAC has not responded to requests for comment about the letter.
Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco; Editing by Lincoln Feast
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
