Elon Musk’s Claim He Won’t Donate to Trump Called into Question
Musk, who is currently the second-richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of nearly $200 billion, did not explicitly rule out donating to a political action committee or fund benefiting one of the candidates – which, unlike direct donations, are not necessarily subject to contribution limits.
Maggie Haberman, one of the New York Times correspondents who first reported the secret summit between the Tesla CEO and backers of Trump’s cash-strapped campaign, addressed the uncertainty surrounding Musk’s claims during an appearance on CNN‘s The Source With Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday night.
“Maggie, when you saw that tweet today from Elon Musk — I still call them tweets — how carefully worded do you think that that message was?” Collins asked. “Because I mean, he could theoretically give to a super PAC supporting a candidate without specifically giving to that candidate.”
“Yeah, I think you’re hitting on the issue here,” Haberman replied. “He says ‘to be clear.’ Well, he’s clear that he’s not giving hard dollars to candidates. And I don’t think anybody expected Elon Musk’s valuable $3,300 checks to be at issue here. I think the bigger issue is whether he would give money to a super PAC — or a dark money group, where they don’t have to disclose who their donors are. And he did not address either one of those. I think the statement left him some wiggle room.”
“Now, that doesn’t mean that he will donate, Kaitlan,” she added. “I could see a world where he doesn’t write a big check, or any check. But that is the hope of people around Trump, is that he does ultimately give money.”
