In the last weeks of the presidential campaign, the world’s richest man has been more active in the United States’ election than at any other time in recent history.
Elon Musk, who was pictured jumping for delight alongside former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa., last weekend, is reportedly speaking with the Republican candidate several times each week.
He has effectively relocated his headquarters of operations to Pennsylvania, which he recently told confidants is the key to Mr. Trump’s re-election.
He has fiercely backed Mr. Trump’s candidacy to his 201 million followers on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, which he purchased for $44 billion and has used to disseminate conspiracy theories about the Democratic Party and disparage its nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Above all, he is personally directing the efforts of a super PAC that he has funded with tens of millions of dollars to turn out voters for Mr. Trump, not just in Pennsylvania but around the country. He has even advocated mounting a campaign bus trip across Pennsylvania and knocking on doors himself, in order to see how his money is used.
Taken together, a clear image of Mr. Musk’s battle plan has developed, as he directs his efforts to elect Mr. Trump with the same frenetic energy and high standards that he has refined at his companies SpaceX, Tesla, and X.
As early as February, Mr. Musk was speaking apocalyptically in private about the critical need to unseat President Biden. But even when he met with advisers in Austin, Texas, in April to plan his super PAC, Mr. Musk sounded as if he saw Mr. Trump as the least of two evils. He told friends in the spring that he wasn’t sure he wanted to explicitly support Mr. Trump.
In private chats, Mr. Musk is passionate, bordering on crazy, about the election’s stakes and the necessity for Mr. Trump to win. He hails Mr. Trump’s bravery in the face of adversity — he endorsed him on the night of the Butler assassination attempt — and discusses his sense of humor. One person who recently met with Mr. Musk recalls him stating, without irony, “I love Trump.”
Mr. Musk’s fervent participation reflects his perception of this time in American history. On X, he has issued grim warnings about the consequences of progressive politics and censorship. He has asserted, without evidence, that Democrats are attempting to flood the country with undocumented immigrants who will reward them with permanent power, warning that the 2024 election could be the last free election in America.
It may be impossible to quantify the financial worth of Mr. Musk’s backing for Mr. Trump. This is due in part to his involvement on X, where he amplify much of the former president’s message. Mr. Trump has privately used extravagant — and unconfirmed — terms to describe Mr. Musk’s contribution to the super PAC, telling one colleague recently that the sum is $500 million.
According to friends and coworkers, Mr. Musk is following the same technique he has used in previous existential crises. Mr. Musk has declared this an all-hands-on-deck moment, much as he has labored late into the night as his firms teetered on the brink of disaster, tinkering with rocket designs at SpaceX, sleeping on a couch in the Tesla factory, or cutting jobs at Twitter.
So, just as he recruited friends, family, and trusted lieutenants for Twitter after purchasing the firm, Mr. Musk has done the same with America PAC, which he created to assist Mr. Trump. Mr. Musk recently welcomed Steve Davis, a former SpaceX engineer and the president of his tunneling company, to the group, returning his role as a sidekick after Mr. Musk took over Twitter.
Mr. Musk is ensconced in a war room in Pittsburgh with a team of lawyers, public relations specialists, canvassing experts, and longstanding friends, attempting to adapt techniques and entrepreneurial principles from his firms to a grind-it-out political mission with only weeks till Election Day. This piece is based on interviews with 17 persons who are familiar with Mr. Musk’s thoughts and activities as Election Day approaches.
“I’m not sure there is a precedent in modern history for how Musk has inserted himself into the presidential race,” said Benjamin Soskis, an ultrarich historian.
The connection between Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk has changed over time.
Mr. Musk, who once privately referred to Mr. Trump as a “stone-cold loser,” owns in abundance everything Mr. Trump cherishes most: fortune, fame, and a vast platform.
Mr. Musk initially supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president and advised that Donald Trump “sail into the sunset.” Mr. Trump said that Mr. Musk asked the government for subsidies. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump has remained attracted by Mr. Musk.
America PAC and the Trump campaign team both declined to comment on this story. Mr. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.