Elon Musk Pulls Back on Political Donations After Backing Trump in 2024

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, says he will cut back on political spending after pouring hundreds of millions into former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign.

Speaking Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk said, "In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future. I think I've done enough."

This marks a major shift from 2024, when Musk was the top political donor in the country. He gave over $250 million to support Trump's re-election, mainly through America PAC, which funded ads and outreach in key swing states, AP said.

Musk even shared the stage with Trump at rallies and took credit for helping him return to the White House.

Musk's political involvement didn't stop there. He was appointed to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-created agency tasked with cutting federal spending.

Under his direction, the department made major cuts, shut down several government programs, and canceled thousands of contracts. DOGE claimed it saved over $170 billion, but many of those numbers were later challenged and called exaggerated.

Musk Faces Backlash as Tesla Targeted Over Political Involvement

The billionaire's aggressive approach sparked major backlash. Tesla faced protests, and Musk said he received threats and saw some of his company's vehicles vandalized. "Being attacked relentlessly is not super fun," Musk said. "Seeing cars burning is not fun."

One of his biggest political failures came in April 2025, when he spent over $21 million backing a Republican candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

That candidate lost by 10 points, even though Trump had won the state just months earlier. The loss was seen as a sign that Musk's influence in politics might be waning.

Though Musk hinted he might return to political giving if he sees a reason in the future, for now, he's refocusing on his businesses.

His AI chatbot Grok is expanding through a deal with Microsoft, Neuralink is preparing more human trials, and Tesla is working on a robot Musk hopes to send to Mars.

According to NY Times, Musk's pullback could impact Republican fundraising heading into the 2026 midterms. He had previously pledged to donate another $100 million to help pro-Trump candidates challenge Republicans seen as disloyal to the former president.

As of now, Musk says he's stepping away. "I do not currently see a reason" to keep spending on politics, he told the forum.

Originally published on vcpost.com