Donald Trump, who is urgently seeking a cash infusion to aid his presidential campaign, met on Sunday in Palm Beach, Fla., with Elon Musk, one of the worlds richest men, and a few wealthy Republican donors, according to three people briefed on the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private discussion.
Mr. Trump and his team are working to find additional major donors to shore up his finances as he heads into an expected general election against President Biden. Mr. Trump has praised Mr. Musk to allies and hopes to have a one-on-one meeting with the billionaire soon, according to a person who has discussed the matter with Mr. Trump.
Its not yet clear whether Mr. Musk plans to spend any of his fortune on Mr. Trumps behalf. But his recent social media posts suggest he thinks its essential that Mr. Biden be defeated in November and people who have spoken to Mr. Musk privately confirmed that is indeed his view.
With a net worth of around $200 billion, according to Forbes, Mr. Musk could decide to throw his weight behind Mr. Trump and potentially, almost single-handedly, erase what is expected to be Mr. Biden and his allies huge financial advantage over the former president.
On Wednesday, following the publication of this story, Mr. Musk posted on X that he was not donating money to either candidate for US President. He did not specify which two candidates he was referring to.
Aides to Mr. Trump did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Musk has long portrayed himself as independent-minded, and like many business leaders he has donated to candidates from both parties over the years. Unlike other U.S. billionaires, he has not spent heavily on a presidential election, and his donations have been fairly evenly split over the years between Democrats and Republicans. Mr. Musks businesses, Tesla and SpaceX, have benefited from federal government contracts and subsidies.
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Donald Trump, Seeking Cash Infusion, Meets With Elon Musk - The New York Times
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