How The Billionaire Moved From Backing Obama To Endorsing DeSantis

2003The year he became chairman of Tesla, Musk made his first federal political contribution to former President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records that show he gave the Bush-Cheney campaign $2,000 that year, however he also contributed the same amount to Democrat John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004.

2007Musk donated $25,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in February that year, but he also gave $2,300 to then-presidential candidate Barack Obama in July and $4,600 to fellow Democratic contender Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in February 2008.

2011Musk, who recently said he supported Obama’s campaign for president (without specifying which one), gave $35,800 to the Obama Victory Fund for the former president’s re-election bid and also donated $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee.

2013Musk stepped down from Mark Zuckerberg-led immigration advocacy group Fwd.us after it ran ads in support of Republicans who backed the Keystone XL oil pipeline, saying he supports immigration reform but it “should not be done at the expense of other important causes,” he told AllThingsD, without specifying the other causes.

2013Musk, who has said the U.S. should “get rid of all” federal subsidies even though SpaceX and Tesla have both received millions from the federal government, directed Tesla to repay a $465 million federal electric vehicle loan nearly a decade before the company was scheduled to do so (the Obama Administration touted the move, after some Republicans criticized backing clean energy companies).

2015Musk donated $5,000 to help fund Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president, and he voiced support for Clinton in 2016 while denouncing her then-opponent former President Donald Trump, telling CNBC Trump doesn’t have the “sort of character that reflects well on the United States.”

2017Musk donated hefty sums to Republicans: $50,000 to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)’s McCarthy Victory Fund in March and $39,600 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

2017Musk left the Trump Administration’s advisory councils in June after the former president withdrew from the Paris Agreement to combat climate change; earlier that year, Musk criticized the administration over its travel ban against several majority-Muslim countries.

2020Musk said he voted for President Joe Biden, though he did not donate to any presidential campaigns and gave money to both Republicans (Sen. Susan Collins of Maine) and Democrats (Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware), according to FEC records, while also voicing support for then-Democratic primary candidate Andrew Yang.

2021Musk donated exclusively to Republican political operations last year, giving a series of donations less than $500 to both the Republican National Committee and the WinRed Republican fundraising platform.

July 12, 2022Trump and Musk traded barbs: Trump called Twitter—which Musk was trying to back out of a deal to buy at the time—“worthless” in a series of Truth Social posts where he also derided Musk’s companies, while Musk tweeted that Trump should “hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.”

November 8, 2022Musk, fresh off of his Twitter takeover, urged Americans to cast their ballots for Republicans in what he said was an effort to balance power in Washington between the two parties: “I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic,” he tweeted, months after calling the Democratic party one of “division and hate.”

November 25, 2022Musk said he was “disappointed” by the Biden Administration and preferred someone for president in 2024 who is “sensible and centrist,” he tweeted before responding “yes” to a user who asked if he would back DeSantis if he runs.