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Elon Musk — a man who has himself been described as a “cult leader” — said he won’t donate tens of millions of dollars to former President Donald Trump because he doesn’t subscribe to a “cult of personality.”
Musk made the comments in an interview with psychologist and conservative commentator Jordan Peterson broadcast Monday afternoon for The Daily Wire. He told Peterson he will not be donating $45 million — each month — to support Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who he has endorsed.
The Wall Street Journal had reported last week that Musk will put the money into America PAC, a newly-formed Super PAC focused on “get out the vote” initiatives that already has major private equity and venture capitalist backers.
“What’s been reported in the media is simply not true,” Musk told Peterson. “I am not donating $45 million a month to Trump.”
Austin, Texas-America PAC is led by Jon Lonsdale, a Palantir co-founder and political confidant to Musk, who has been instrumental in fundraising for the group, The New York Times reported. Some major donors include the billionaire Winklevoss twins, Sequoia Capital partners, and Ken Howery, a former ambassador to Sweden and co-founder of PayPal.
Musk told Peterson that America PAC “is not supposed to be a sort of hyperpartisan” organization. He added that he isn’t part of Make America Great Again, or MAGA, Trump’s campaign slogan, although his principles are currently aligned with the idea of “Make America Greater,” before describing that meritocracy is a “core ideal” of the U.S. that makes it great.
“I don’t subscribe to a cult of personality,” Musk said when asked what he thinks of Trump, telling Peterson that he believes the U.S. needs a change of administration.
Musk himself has been described as wanting to be seen as a type of “cult leader” by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who last year compared the Tesla CEO to Steve Jobs. Musk — who leads several companies and has made reaching Mars his dream — has cultivated his own mythos around his success and intelligence and his comments can weigh heavily on Tesla stock.
During a rally earlier this week, Trump told a crowd of supporters that “I love Elon Musk,” adding that we “have to make life good for our smart people.” Trump, who said he talked to Musk recently, said the billionaire hasn’t mentioned the reported $45 million donations or asked him why he is “hitting electric cars.” Both Trump and Vance are advocates for domestic natural gas and oil production and oppose relying on clean energy, with the latter calling EVs a “scam.”
Musk on Monday also told Peterson that the reason he vowed to “destroy the woke mind virus” was because his daughter had received gender-affirming care and transitioned during the pandemic. He also called gender-reassignment surgery “child mutilation and sterilization.” Musk’s comments came shortly after he announced that X and SpaceX would join Tesla and move to Texas over California’s recently-approved SAFETY Act.