On October 5th, 2024, videos of Elon Musk frantically jumping up and down on stage at a Trump campaign rally circulated across social media. The billionaire appeared to support the Republican presidential candidate, forming an “X” with his body while mid-jump. The unusual display drew widespread mockery and surprised reactions from the American public, many of whom had never seen Musk in a political context before. However, this scene represents only a fraction of Musk’s involvement in the 2024 race—an influence that significantly impacted the election’s outcome.
Social Media and the “America PAC”
In the months preceding the election, Musk faced backlash online for spreading misinformation after posting a doctored video of VP Harris on X. In the clip, a fake voiceover of Harris proclaimed, “I was selected because I was the ultimate diversity hire,” alluding to similar comments made by multiple Republican representatives. In August, his social media platform X had to be reprogrammed after its chatbot ‘Grok’ provided incorrect state ballot deadlines. Musk also funded an advertisement that refers to Kamala Harris as the “c-word” multiple times before revealing the word to be “communist” in the final five seconds.
Moreover, Musk’s influence extends beyond social media. Since July 2024, he has spearheaded America PAC, a super political action committee that served to back President Donald Trump in the race. By November, America PAC had committed approximately 250 million USD to Trump’s election campaign. The committee’s team of 300 to 400 field workers door-to-door campaigned in every battleground state, visiting the homes of those likely to vote for Trump at least three times before Election Day. Musk’s PAC also spent over $166,000 to finance online ads that targeted swing voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Wisconsin.
Two weeks before the election, the tech giant faced particularly intense criticism for offering $1 million USD to voters in battleground states if they signed a petition “in support of the First and Second Amendment.” Musk clarified at a Pennsylvania Trump rally, “We are going to be awarding $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election.”
This extravagant claim was not an empty promise, either. On October 19th, Musk identified his first winner, handing out a $1 million check—funded by America PAC—to a Trump supporter at a rally in Harrisburg. He did the same at a rally in Pittsburgh the very next day. The PAC has reported that over 280,000 registered voters in Pennsylvania alone had signed the petition. Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law School, immediately remarked that this action could easily violate federal law, noting, “When you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, that’s where bribery concerns arise.” The Department of Justice (DoJ) had warned Musk that his actions may be illegal just four days after he presented his first million-dollar prize.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office officially opened a lawsuit against Musk’s America PAC on October 28th, 2024. DA Lawrence Krasner called the giveaway strategy an “illegal lottery scheme” shortly after the ninth winner had been awarded a check from America PAC. In his lawsuit, Krasner argued that Musk’s giveaways were not randomized, but instead, the PAC purposefully chose its recipients. America PAC had failed to publish information regarding how participant information was protected or the official rules of the giveaway, which Krasner maintained violates Pennsylvania’s consumer protection laws.
Krasner also framed Musk’s giveaway as a lottery, in which case Pennsylvania law would make the PAC’s actions illegal. Only the state itself can run lotteries, specifically for the benefit of senior citizens. The suit asserted that “this case is very simple” because “America PAC and Musk are indisputably violating Pennsylvania’s statutory prohibitions against illegal lotteries and deceiving consumers.”
Ultimately, Judge Angelo Foglietta ruled on November 4th—just two days before election night—that Musk’s giveaway could continue. In his opinion, given over a week later, Judge Foglietta wrote that DA Krasner had “failed to provide any evidence of misuse beyond mere speculation.” Musk continued to hand out America PAC’s $1 million prize until election night.
Newfound Political Power
Musk’s reach extends far beyond Donald Trump’s election in November. He was tasked by Trump to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a role the President described as focusing on “dismantl[ing] government bureaucracy, slash[ing] excess regulations, cut[ting] wasteful expenditures, and restructur[ing] federal agencies.” While Doge is not an official government department (regardless of its misleading name), it operates instead as an advisory body to the White House. Musk, along with former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, will locate and relay unnecessary regulations to President Trump, who will then executively pause their enforcement.
Musk has already leveraged his close ties to Trump when speaking on the midterms. He announced that if Republican Congressmembers were to turn against Trump’s agenda, he would back GOP primary challengers against their re-election in 2026. This threat came amidst his calls to shut down a bipartisan government funding plan – a measure which was then immediately killed by Trump, who instead promoted a new proposal.
On Inauguration Day, Musk reminded the American public of the dark impact he is likely to have on their government. During his speech, Musk abruptly thrust his hand out from his chest, directing it toward the audience in a position which resembled a Nazi salute. The gesture was quickly condemned by many, who saw it as an extremist provocation encouraging violence. The Tesla CEO refuses to acknowledge such implications. Instead, he has taken to posting Nazi-related puns on X. “Don’t say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down!,” and “Bet you did nazi see that coming,” accompanied by a laughing emoji. In a more direct but still concerning response, Musk posted that the media needed “better dirty tricks,” adding that “the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
Elon Musk’s actions are indicative of his increasingly concerning hold on President Trump and American policymaking, blurring the line between private power and public governance. As Democratic Representative Robert Garcia of California affirmed, “Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency.”
Edited by Lucy de Cartier
This article is written by a Catalyst Staff Writer and does not reflect the political opinion of the platform. Catalyst is a student-led publication that encourages engagement with global issues from a learning perspective
Marina Gallo is in her first year at McGill University, pursuing a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in International Development Studies. She is particularly interested in Latin American politics and U.S. economic policy.