Tesla CEO Musk meets with Trump as former president seeks 2024 donors

By Nancy Cook and Jennifer Jacobs

Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk met on Sunday as the Republican presidential frontrunner is seeking to woo donors to fund his cash-strapped political operation, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The New York Times reported earlier on the meeting. Musk was part of a group of prospective donors who met with the former president, the newspaper reported, adding that it is unclear if the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer has decided to contribute to Trump’s campaign. 

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Elon Musk (Photo: Bloomberg)

Musk is the world’s third richest man but has not been a major political donor, especially considering the size of his fortune, estimated at $192 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk has donated less than $1 million since 2009, Federal Election Commission records show.

If Musk changes his approach and decides to financially back Trump, it could provide a significant boost to the former president’s campaign.

Trump’s campaign war chest is far smaller than Biden’s, putting the former president at a disadvantage in a likely general election rematch between the two men. Trump has thus far struggled to attract large donors to his 2024 bid, with many of them sitting on the sidelines or supporting Nikki Haley.

He began February with $30.4 million on hand, compared to the president’s $130 million, according to federal filings. 

Trump’s fundraising operation has shown sign of weakness: his campaign spent more than it raised in January and allied political action committees have spent more than $50 million on his legal fees so far, and are on track to run out of money to fund his lawyers mid-year.

Dissatisfied With Biden

Musk in the past has supported both Republicans and Democrats, and Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. have relied on federal subsidies and contracts. But he has been deeply critical of Biden throughout his presidency. 

The billionaire’s rhetoric about immigration has become increasingly bellicose, and similar in tone to Trump’s. Musk on Tuesday said Biden’s border policies amount to “treason,” accusing the administration of “ushering in vast numbers of illegals” in order to have them illegally vote for Democrats in elections. There is no evidence of claims of widespread voter fraud. 

The comments are reminiscent of conspiracy theories promoted by White supremacists that there’s a plot to disempower White Americans.

Musk has also accused Biden and his administration of being “biased” against Tesla, citing a 2021 electric vehicle event at the White House that excluded his company. He said in November that he voted for Biden in 2020 but couldn’t see himself doing so again this fall. 

The technology mogul participated in meetings the White House in September about artificial intelligence, according to visitor logs, but he did not sit down with Biden. 

Musk has also been critical of Trump in the past. He resigned from two White House advisory councils in 2017 over the then-president’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement. 

“Climate change is real,” Musk tweeted at the time.