Billionaire Elon Musk donated millions of dollars to Republican causes as early as 2022, much earlier than previously known, according to media reports.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO gave more than $50 million to a group with ties to Trump adviser Stephen Miller in fall 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The group, called Citizens for Sanity, used the funds to run ads attacking Democrats in battleground states ahead of the midterm election.
Musk also gave $10 million to support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s bid for president in 2023, more than half of which went toward the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, according to the Journal.
He also began contributing to another Republican organization, Building America’s Future, in 2022, Reuters reported. Although it’s unclear how much Musk donated, Building America’s Future saw its revenues jump from $11 million in 2021 to $53 million in 2022.
Musk’s donations went to the GOP groups through 501(c)(4) organizations, also known as “dark money” groups, that do not have to disclose the source of their money, both outlets noted.
The billionaire, who once largely avoided politics, has increasingly waded into partisan debates in recent months, embracing former President Trump and amplifying right-wing views on his social platform X.
Musk formally endorsed Trump in July after the former president was injured in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally. The tech mogul also helped launch a pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC, earlier this year that has raked in millions of dollars.