Elon Musk's $75m gamble: Fueling Trump's Pennsylvania push

Pennsylvania is considered one of the key states where citizens can tip the scales of support for the Republican candidate.

A $75 million contribution from one person seems staggering—although it only slightly impacts Musk's personal wealth and doesn't even make him the largest donor to Trump in this cycle. However, the involvement of the world's, until recently, richest man is not limited to contributions; as noted by "The New York Times" last week, such involvement is unprecedented in recent history.

The newspaper noted that Musk moved to Pennsylvania, which is deemed the most crucial state from an election perspective, and invested at least $140-180 million in the Trump-supporting election committee, known as the SuperPAC America PAC. Despite this, Trump reportedly told his associates that Musk supported him with half a billion dollars.

Additionally, the billionaire revealed that America PAC is paying individuals $47 per name to help identify likely Trump voters in seven key states. According to Politico, it is currently quite challenging to separate Musk, the businessman, from Musk, the politician. Although Trump has announced that he would appoint Musk to a high position in his administration if he wins, the billionaire's political activities may not positively impact his financial results.

"That part of his future depends on one other constituency Musk will need to worry about: Wall Street. He’s the world’s richest man mostly by virtue of Tesla’s off-the-charts valuation as a company, and the robotaxi — despite the cool factor — left investors underwhelmed," noted the portal. It further observed that after the system's presentation, the company's shares fell by nearly 9 percent, translating to a $68 billion decrease in the company's value.