Elon Musk PAC Data Shows Trump Leading Harris in Election

When a Michigan voter conducts a search: GoogleYou may see some shocking advertisements.

The ad shows a young man lying in bed late at night, while someone texts him, “Hey, you should vote,” and sends him a video of an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The man can be heard screaming and gunshots in the background.

As Trump was rushed off the stage with blood pouring from his face, a man watching the video typed: “This is out of control. Where do we start?”

The ad then shows the website of a group called America PAC.

The website says it helps viewers register to vote. But when users click “Register to Vote,” the experience can be very different depending on where they live.

If you live in a state that isn’t considered a close race for president, like California or Wyoming, you’ll be prompted to enter your email address and zip code, and then either be taken to that state’s voter registration page or returned to the original sign-up section.

But for users who enter a zip code indicating they live in a key battleground state like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different.

Instead of being taken to your state’s voter registration page, you’ll be taken to a very detailed personal information form that asks you to enter your address, phone number, and age.

Even if they agree to submit everything, the system still won’t take them to the voter registration page. Instead, it’ll show them a “Thank You” page.

So what about those people who wanted help registering to vote? Well, they didn’t get any help registering at all. But they did hand over their valuable personal data to a political operation.

Specifically, a political action committee was created. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s goal is to give Republican presidential nominee Trump an advantage in his campaign against Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I created a PAC, or super PAC, an American PAC,” Musk said in a recent interview.

Musk also owns the social media platform X and has a net worth of over $235 billion, according to Forbes.

Musk became a major force in the first U.S. presidential election thanks to his ownership of a social media company that provides a massive platform for his political views and the creation of a PAC with virtually limitless resources.

According to AdImpact, America PAC has spent more than $800,000 on digital ads targeting voters in key battleground states including Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since early July.

The ads ran on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube, all urging people to register to vote on the America PAC website.

The PAC’s efforts to gather information from people using the idea of ​​”voter registration” are a key part of its plan to personally connect with these voters.

“America PAC is focused on going door to door and canvassing for Trump,” said Brendan Fisher, executive vice president of campaign finance watchdog Documented.

“I think it’s safe to assume that voter data collected through these digital appeals will inform America PAC’s campaigns and other political activities,” he added.

Fisher pointed to the group’s privacy policy, which states it may use the data collected for “other activities and/or fundraising campaigns.”

Since June, America PAC has spent more than $21 million on campaigns, digital media, text messaging services and phone calls, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The PAC website does not indicate the group’s political leanings in any way, but in federal filings the group says its work is designed to help Trump or harm his opponents.

Fisher said he has seen some other PACs try to collect data on people using “register to vote” messages.

But what’s unique about the America PAC project is who’s funding it and when it was founded.

In most cases, super PACs are not allowed to directly coordinate the ads they pay for with campaigns. But this spring, regulators ruled that door-to-door canvassing is exempt from the ban because, unlike advertising, it is a person-to-person exchange.

“What makes America PAC unique is that it is a billionaire-backed super PAC that can work with a presidential campaign to do door-to-door canvassing,” Fisher said. “Thanks to a recent FEC advisory opinion, America PAC can legally coordinate its canvassing efforts with the Trump campaign, which means the Trump campaign can provide America PAC with materials and scripts to ensure consistency in its efforts.”

“Coordination is incredibly important, making sure that the PAC’s work is working to the best of its ability to benefit the campaign and that the campaign can use its own funds for other purposes,” he said. “I think the ability for the PAC to coordinate with the Trump campaign and their data-driven canvassing efforts was very appealing to donors.”

Longtime Republican strategists Phil Cox, Genera Peck and Dave Rexrod are among those now leading the PAC following the mid-July shakeup, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter who was granted anonymity to speak freely about private matters.

The change suggests the PAC’s strategy could change in November. The New York Times first reported the move.

Musk isn’t the only tech executive backing these efforts.

According to FEC records, America PAC raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30. It received donations from veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and a company run by longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, according to FEC records.

According to the Times, Lonsdale, a co-founder of software company Palantir, is also the leader of the PAC and serves as Musk’s “political confidant.”

The records do not yet list Musk as a donor. He recently said at X that he was “giving some money to America PAC,” but did not say how much. The PAC is not required to file its third-quarter report until Oct. 15, when Musk’s name first appeared as a donor.

A spokesperson for America PAC declined to comment. Musk did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The PAC ad, which aired on social media platforms, reflects a larger message Musk delivers to his 191 million followers on X multiple times a day: that America is in disarray and voting for Trump, not Harris, is the only way out.

““These PACs have often functioned as avatars of the billionaires behind them,” said Daniel Winer, director of the Brennan Center’s elections and government program.

Experts say Musk’s ownership of X and the lack of any real protections against its use are signs that the Tesla boss could use the platform as a political weapon against Harris and Democrats with less than 100 days until the election.

“I would say it’s somewhat concerning that the owner of one of the most important social media platforms is openly partisan — rooting for one of the candidates — and using their platform as a means to further their own openly partisan goals,” said Matthew Baum, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School who studies disinformation.

Baum said owning a social media company like X “leaves the door open to partisan actors taking over major platforms, and those actors are free to use the platforms without regard to potentially negative social or political consequences.”

“There is concern that Musk is weaponizing that platform to help his preferred candidate, Trump,” Weiner said.