Elon Musk announced that he’ll do “a lot less” political spending in the future as he spoke remotely with Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday, saying that he doesn’t “currently see a reason” to continue spending significantly.
“In terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said.
“And why is that?” Husain asked.
“I think I’ve done enough,” Musk replied, prompting laughter from the audience in the room.
“Is it because of blowback?” Husain pressed.
“Well, if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it,” the de-facto head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) responded. “I don’t currently see a reason.”
Musk was President Donald Trump’s top campaign backer in 2024, spending more than $250 million to help the Republican win a second term in the White House. Musk’s super PAC spent an additional $19+ million to support Republicans in competitive House races.
The billionaire suffered a public defeat in April when he became deeply involved in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, dropping approximately $25 million into supporting the Republican-backed candidate, Brad Schimel. The race, in a state that Trump carried in the presidential election months prior, was called surprisingly early for Schimel’s opponent. The Democrat-backed candidate, Susan Crawford, ultimately won by 10 percentage points.
The news of Musk planning to dial back his political spending comes as he’s signaled he’ll spend less time in Washington, D.C., and more time running his businesses. In the same interview Tuesday, Musk said he remains committed to being the CEO of Tesla for at least the next five years.
