Musk’s Political Influence In Texas Grows With $1M Donation To Pro-Business PAC

Billionaire Elon Musk has made his first state-level political donation in Texas in nearly a decade.

First reported by the San Antonio Express-News, the Tesla CEO made a $1 million donation to the Texas for Lawsuit Reform PAC, a pro-business group co-funded by Dick Weekley, a GOP donor. 

The donation was made through the Elon Musk Revocable Trust and it’s the largest donation made to the PAC, accounting for about a third of the $2.9 million the PAC reported raising. The second largest donation to the PAC was from Miriam Adelson, one of the largest out-of-state political donors.

Musk has become more active in politics this electoral cycle, launching a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump. He even appeared in one of Trump’s rallies in Pennsylvania last weekend and gave $289,100 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in August.

A spokesperson for the PAC said Musk does not serve on its board.

“Elon Musk is one of hundreds of contributors to TLRPAC and we are very pleased to have his significant support,” spokeswoman Lucy Nashed Cafrelli said.

In addition, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk secretly channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to unseat Travis County District Attorney José Garza in the Democratic Primary. The report found that Musk funded ads and fliers accusing the incumbent of “filling Austin’s streets with pedophiles & killers.”

Musk’s interest in Texas arises from his decision to move much of his business to Texas. Last time Musk got involved in the state’s politics was in 2014, when he made several donations to candidates in both parties, as he tried to push lawmakers to pass laws allowing Tesla to sell its electric vehicles to customers.

According to the Express-News, Musk donated $10,000 to then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, $1,000 to U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who at the time was a Democratic state senator, and 5,000 to Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who at the time was a Republican state senator.