According to Bloomberg, the meeting between the former president and the boss of Tesla, the world's second-richest person, and other Republican donors took place on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida.
Three sources familiar with the meeting confirmed the details to the New York Times. The meeting comes as Trump seeks a decisive victory on Super Tuesday that would bring him closer to a rematch with Joe Biden for the Oval Office on November 5.
According to the New York Times, the former president and his team are trying to find other major donors to shore up Trump's finances as he heads toward an expected general election against Biden. It is not yet clear whether Musk plans to spend money to support Trump, but recent social media posts suggest he thinks Biden's term should end.
Elon Musk and Trump
The meeting between the former president and the Tesla boss reportedly took place Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida (AP) People close to the tech mogul confirmed it was Musk's personal view, the New York Times reported.
After a series of serious legal troubles and a recent fine of over $450 million, Trump is already at a financial disadvantage vis-à-vis Biden and his associates. Musk has long described himself as "independent-minded" and a champion of free speech (most notably with his purchase of social media platform X, formerly Twitter) and, like many business people, has donated to candidates from both parties over the years.
However, unlike other US billionaires, he has not spent heavily on a presidential election and his donations have been fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans over the years. His companies Tesla and SpaceX benefit from federal government contracts and subsidies.
The relationship between Trump and Musk has also had its ups and downs, with Musk withdrawing from two trade advisory councils following Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.
