Elon Musk is set to campaign in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania this week after funneling $75m into trying to help Donald Trump win the 2024 election.
The billionaire, one of Trump’s most deep-pocketed supporters, said he plans to give “a series of talks” in the battleground state from Wednesday through Monday.
Musk wrote in a post on X: “If you’d like to attend one of my talks, there’s no attendance fee. You just need to have signed our petition supporting free speech & right to bear arms & have voted in this election.”
Between July and September, the world’s richest man gave almost $75m to his pro-Trump super PAC America, according to election filings. It is one of the key organizations forming the backbone of the Trump campaign’s unorthodox get-out-the-vote strategy, which has relied on outside groups instead of more tightly controlled campaign efforts.
The PAC’s social media account said its goal is to get one million voters in swing states to sign Musk’s petition. It is offering $47 to people who refer others to sign it.
As a crucial swing state, Pennsylvania could decide the outcome of the presidential election and is critical for both the Harris and Trump campaigns.
According to the latest polling, the candidates are incredibly close in the state.
The SpaceX CEO backed Trump earlier this year, and has become one of the Republican candidate’s most vocal supporters. Trump has welcomed the support with open arms, praising Musk as a genius and promising to appoint him to run a government commission presiding over massive spending cuts.
To solidify his loyality, Musk appeared on stage with Trump earlier this month when he returned to the site of the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a campaign rally.
Musk told the crowd: “I think this election is the most important election of our lifetime. This is no ordinary election. President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America. This is a must win situation, must win.”
He also launched into a rambling appeal to Americans, telling them to register to vote, and making the brazenly baseless claim that Democrats are going to eliminate elections in America.
While his staunch public support of Trump appears to be fairly new, Musk has actually been a major donor in Republican circles for years.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk has reportedly funneled approximately $60m to groups affiliated with former Trump adviser Stephen Miller and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the past.
Two people familiar with Musk’s donations told Reuters in October that he began contributing to Building America’s Future in 2022.
Through social media site X, which the Tesla CEO bought for $44bn in 2022, Musk has also given Trump and his allies a huge platform.