Even as Elon Musk endorses Donald Trump, employees at his companies—Tesla, SpaceX, and X—are directing more campaign contributions to Kamala Harris, revealing a political disconnect between Musk and his workforce.
Musk Backs Trump, Workers Favor Harris
Although Elon Musk has backed Republican candidate Donald Trump for president, most of his collection of firms' employees are giving to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump.
The nonpartisan charity OpenSecrets analyzes U.S. campaign contributions and lobbying data. According to Reuters, workers at Tesla contributed $42,824 to Harris' presidential campaign, while Trump received $24,840.
X Employees Contribute Significantly to Harris
In contrast to Trump's $7,652 donation, Musk's rocket company, SpaceX employees have given $34,526 to Harris. A total of $13,213 has been donated to Harris by X employees (the platform was formerly known as Twitter), while Trump has received less than $500.
The sums may be modest compared to Musk's campaign donations, but they reveal political preferences that are in contrast with his own. While endorsing Trump on X, the wealthiest man in the world, Musk, has called left-leaning ideologies a "woke-mind virus."
Musk’s Rightward Shift Since Supporting Biden
As reported by MSN, Musk was slow to react when asked for comment. He supported Joe Biden for president in 2020 but has since moved to the right. If Trump is elected president on November 5, he has promised to select Musk to head a panel to improve government efficiency.
Donations from firm employees, owners, and their immediate families are included in the OpenSecrets statistics. Companies cannot donate to federal campaigns in accordance with campaign finance laws.
Republican stronghold California is home to many of Musk's staff, according to Ross Gerber, CEO of Tesla shareholder Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. In addition to X, Gerber is an investor.
Musk Plans to Move X and SpaceX to Texas
Musk mentioned in July that he would be relocating the headquarters of X and SpaceX from California to Texas. He cited a gender identity law in California as the "last straw." According to Gerber, this would imply "losing out on a lot of potential talent" in California.