Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the one-time co-leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency who parted ways over growing internal tension, have apparently reconciled, with Musk donating $5 million toward a super PAC backing Ramaswamy’s bid for Ohio governor.
Musk, the world’s richest person, donated on May 8 to the Victors, Not Victims super PAC, which is supporting Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for governor who left DOGE before President Donald Trump took office.
Musk quickly endorsed Ramaswamy when he announced his bid. This $5 million contribution is the first from Musk for his former DOGE pal.
After the 2024 elections — where Musk heavily backed Trump and other Republican candidates — Musk pledged to spend less on elections. The announcement came after a lopsided win for progressive candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, where the candidate Musk backed lost by 10 percentage points.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission just ruled that Musk’s dealings — specifically because he handed out $1 million checks to voters — was likely illegal.
That hasn’t stopped the tech titan from staying involved in politics. According to campaign finance records, Musk has continued to donate for the midterm elections. In March, he contributed over $1 million to America PAC, a super PAC he founded.
In January, he contributed $10 million to the Fight for Kentucky super PAC, which backs Republican candidates. Overall, Musk, who became the world’s first trillionaire but has since dropped below that threshold, has spent at least $90 million this election cycle, FEC records show.
