Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has made his support for former United States president Donald Trump very clear in the race for the White House.
However, employees at his collection of companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and X, are largely donating to Republican presidential candidate’s Democratic rival Kamala Harris, according to OpenSecrets, Reuters reported.
OpenSecrets, which is a non-partisan non-profit that tracks US campaign contributions and lobbying data, recently stated that workers at Tesla have 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 versus $7,652 to Trump.
Meanwhile, employees at the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, have donated $13,213 to Harris versus less than $500 to Trump.
Although the figures are relatively small for campaign fundraising, they indicate political leanings at odds with Musk’s own.
The 53-year-old tech billionaire has boosted Trump on X and dismissed left-leaning ideas as a “woke-mind virus.”
In the 2020 presidential elections, Musk backed President Joe Biden but has tacked rightward since then. Trump has said that if he wins the November 5 election, he will appoint Musk to lead a government efficiency commission.
The OpenSecrets data includes donations from company employees and owners and those individuals’ immediate family members.
Campaign finance laws prohibit companies themselves from donating to federal campaigns.
Many of Musk’s employees are based in California, a Democratic stronghold, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, which is a Tesla shareholder. Gerber is also an investor in X.
In July, Musk said he would move X and SpaceX headquarters to Texas from California because of a California gender-identity law he called the “last straw.”
Gerber said such a move would mean “losing out on a lot of potential talent” in California.
