Billionaire SpaceX founder Elon Musk donated $33,900 last month to GOP Super PAC Protect the House.
The committee, which works to help reelect Republican congressional incumbents and maintain GOP control of the House of Representatives, raised a total of $8.6 million in the second quarter of 2018, according to a report from ProPublica.
The itemized list includes Houston Texans owner Robert McNair and billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who both tied with a few others for the top donation at $371,000 each.
Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has supported President Trump on his tough trade policies regarding China.
“Current rules make things very difficult. It’s like competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes,” Musk tweeted to Trump last March, referring to Tesla’s efforts to compete in China after the president’s $60 billion tariff announcement. (RELATED: Elon Musk Cheers On Trump As U.S. Prepares Stiff Tariffs On Chinese Products)
Musk has also been openly critical of the media, even using the Trumpian “fake news” moniker.
The entrepreneur has described himself as “somewhere in the middle, socially liberal and fiscally conservative,” and has donated to liberal causes as well, according to FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver.
Here (per OpenSecrets) are Musk’s donations since late 2010, not counting his most recent contribution which doesn’t yet show up in their data. There are donations here to Hillary, Obama, the DCCC and DSCC, etc. But also donations to lots of Republican candidates and PACs. pic.twitter.com/mWBpTtYJvs
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 14, 2018