Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has made his support for former US President Donald Trump very clear in the race for the White House.
However, employees at his stable of companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and X, are donating heavily to Republican presidential nominee Kamala Harris' Democratic rival, according to OpenSecrets. Reuters reported.
OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks campaign contributions and lobbying data in the United States, recently stated that Tesla workers contributed $42,824 to Harris’ presidential campaign versus $24,840 to Trump’s campaign.
Employees at Musk's rocket company SpaceX have donated $34,526 to Harris, compared to $7,652 for Trump.
Meanwhile, employees of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, have donated $13,213 to Harris, compared with less than $500 to Trump.
While the numbers are relatively small for campaign fundraising, they indicate political leanings opposite to Musk's own.
The 53-year-old tech billionaire has endorsed Trump on X and dismissed leftist ideas as a “woke mind virus.”
In the 2020 presidential election, Musk endorsed President Joe Biden, but has since swung to the right. Trump has said that if he wins the Nov. 5 election, he will appoint Musk to lead a government efficiency commission.
OpenSecrets data includes donations from employees and business owners and their immediate family members.
Campaign finance laws prohibit corporations themselves from making donations to federal campaigns.
Many of Musk's employees are based in California, a Democratic stronghold, said Ross Gerber, chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, a Tesla shareholder. Gerber is also an investor in X.
In July, Musk said he would move the headquarters of X and SpaceX from California to Texas because of a California gender identity law that he called “the straw that broke the camel's back.”
Gerber said such a move would mean “losing a lot of potential talent” in California.
