Elon Musk signaled he won’t donate money to likely Republican nominee Donald Trump or President Joe Biden, downplaying expectations after a meeting with the GOP candidate earlier this week.
“Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. Musk stopped short of specifying Trump or Biden by name.
Musk’s comments, however, do not rule out donations to a super political action committee or other political causes.
The announcement, though, is a blow to Trump, who has a serious cash disadvantage as he launches into a general election rematch with Biden. Trump’s last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race on Wednesday, all but locking up the GOP nomination for the former president.
Musk, who is worth $192 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, is the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc.
He met Trump on Sunday as the Republican looks to woo donors. Trump’s campaign war chest is far smaller than Biden’s. He began February with $30.4 million on hand, compared to the president’s $130 million, according to federal filings. The Republican’s court cases have been a financial drain on his campaign.
Musk has said he voted for Biden in 2020 but has been a sharp critic of the president’s policies in office, including over the migrant crisis at the southwest US border.
“The campaign just broke our grassroots fundraising record for the fourth month in a row, so we’re good,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said. “But someone should check in on Donald Trump’s lawyers who are now probably more than a little panicked about getting stiffed again.”
Biden’s campaign announced Tuesday that its February fundraising haul set a fourth consecutive monthly record, but didn’t specify the total.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
Musk hasn’t deployed his wealth in politics like other billionaires. He has donated less than $1 million since 2009, Federal Election Commission records show.