Musk to step back from political spending: ‘I think I’ve done enough’
Elon Musk said he plans to cut back on political spending, saying he has “done enough,” a move that coincides with the billionaire entrepreneur taking a step back from President Donald Trump’s Washington.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, the Tesla CEO said he would “do a lot less” political spending “in the future,” adding: “I think I’ve done enough.”
Musk brushed aside a question about whether his move was a response to pushback he has received for his prominent role in reshaping the federal government, marked by his leadership of the agency-slashing Department of Government Efficiency.
“If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don’t currently see a reason,” he said.
Musk, who poured over $290 million of his own money into the 2024 election to support Trump and Republicans, had established himself as a major political force, both domestically and abroad.
At home, he has sought to influence state elections, including a key Wisconsin Supreme Court race last month. His political operation spent significantly on the contest, which turned into a referendum on Musk’s popularity as he became the face of the Republican campaign.
But his efforts failed as the Democratic-backed candidate easily secured victory, marking a turning point for Musk’s political involvement.
The billionaire also came under fire for repeatedly attempting to influence various European elections at the end of last year, including throwing his weight behind Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, a move that drew significant backlash in the country.
The Wisconsin blow also came amid heightened backlash against Musk’s slash-and-burn approach to downsizing the federal government under DOGE, which has elicited anger from across the political spectrum.
Dissatisfaction with Musk has bubbled over among Americans, with the adviser receiving only 41 percent approval and 58 percent disapproval of his work with DOGE in polling released last month.
While anti-Musk protesters took out their rage against his government cuts on Tesla cars and showrooms across the country, Republican lawmakers faced waves of angry backlash from constituents during town halls in their home states, prompting the chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm to call for a halt to the open forums at the time.
As the brewing anti-Musk storm grew, Democrats seized on the billionaire’s government influence project to rally their base — a strategy that proved successful in Wisconsin.
The once-ubiquitous adviser to the president has since played a less public-facing role in the Republican Party. He’s been less visible in Oval Office appearances and Cabinet meetings with Trump, which had become a hallmark of the early days of his presidency.
The president and his top advisers have also gone silent on Musk on their social media platforms in recent weeks, a marked shift away from the stream of praise they once had for the billionaire.
As Musk has faded into the background, so too have his DOGE efforts. While the aggressive federal slashing project dominated airwaves at the outset of Trump’s presidency, it has more recently taken a backseat to other controversial issues under the administration, including Trump’s mass deportation policy and tariff scheme.
Musk, too, has had some notable public breaks with the president. The Tesla CEO, who lost billions after Trump announced his sweeping tariff plan last month, came out swinging against White House trade adviser and key supporter of the president’s tariff policy, Peter Navarro, blasting him as a “moron” in an unusually public show of dissent.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the quarrel at the time, saying “boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue.”
Musk’s decision to tone down his political involvement could throw a wrench in Democrats’ plans to continue using the billionaire as a political target, as they appear poised to lose the figure they have portrayed as Washington’s chief villain. But it could also leave a major hole in Republican campaigns’ funds if he does actually slow down spending.
Tuesday’s comments are not the first time Musk has made sweeping pronouncements about his intentions not to involve himself in politics.
He said in March 2024 that he wouldn’t be “donating money to either candidate” in the presidential election. By December 2024, Musk had endorsed Trump and thrown hundreds of million into the election, setting up his meteoric rise as the president’s right hand man.
And Washington hasn’t seen the end of Musk quite yet. He said during his Tuesday speech that he plans to have dinner with Trump on Wednesday, signaling that he hasn’t entirely lost the president’s ear.