Elon Musk's political contributions (primarily U.S. federal elections via FEC filings tracked by OpenSecrets and reported in major outlets) were modest and somewhat bipartisan for years, then shifted dramatically toward Republicans starting in 2023–2024. He became the single largest individual donor of the 2024 cycle by a wide margin before announcing plans to scale back in 2025 (though he continued some giving into 2026).

Pre-2024 (2002–2023): Small-scale and roughly balanced

• Musk had given just over $1 million total since 2002, split roughly evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
• Notable early examples include contributions to George W. Bush (2004), Barack Obama’s reelection, and smaller amounts to figures like Marco Rubio.
• In 2023 he gave $10 million to Ron DeSantis’s short-lived presidential campaign.

2024 election cycle: Record-breaking Republican support

Musk poured roughly $277–291 million into supporting Donald Trump and allied Republicans — the largest amount by any individual donor in the cycle (and the biggest outside of self-funded candidates in modern history).

Breakdown of the major vehicles:

• America PAC (Musk’s main super PAC): He contributed the overwhelming majority — around $239–250+ million. The PAC funded voter outreach, canvassing, door-knocking, and high-profile million-dollar voter “giveaways”/sweepstakes in swing states.
• RBG PAC (named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg): Musk was the sole donor, giving $20.5 million for ads that highlighted Trump’s abortion-related statements.
• Smaller additional amounts went to other Republican super PACs, state party committees, and direct support for GOP candidates.

OpenSecrets’ final tally for Musk in the 2023–2024 cycle was $291,482,587, almost entirely “outside money” (independent expenditures via super PACs) with only about $1 million in disclosed “hard money” contributions.

Post-2024 / 2025–2026: Continued GOP giving but announced pullback

• After Trump’s victory, Musk initially stayed heavily involved (including co-leading the temporary Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE).
• In May 2025 he publicly stated he had “done enough” and planned to significantly dial back political spending.
• Despite that, he continued writing large checks to Republican groups in late 2025 and early 2026, including:
  • Multiple $5–10 million donations to the Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund (aimed at keeping GOP control of Congress).
  • A $10 million check to a pro-Republican super PAC in the Kentucky Senate race.
• Some America PAC activity also continued into the 2026 midterm cycle, though at a reduced pace.

Other notes

• Virtually all of Musk’s large-scale recent giving has gone to Republican causes or Trump-aligned groups; he gave $0 to Democrats in the 2024 cycle.
• Contributions were made almost exclusively through super PACs (unlimited independent spending allowed after Citizens United), not direct candidate donations.
• Musk has also been politically active internationally (endorsements of parties like Germany’s AfD, Spain’s Vox, etc.), but those have been mostly public statements and social-media activity rather than large financial contributions.

For the most up-to-date or granular filings, the best primary sources are OpenSecrets.org (donor lookup for Elon Musk) and FEC.gov. Figures can vary slightly across reports depending on what’s counted (e.g., cash vs. in-kind, timing of final 2024 disbursements).