Elon Musk says he's not donating $45 million a month to Trump's campaign: 'Simply not true'
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is denying a report that he pledged $45 million of his own money to former president Donald Trump's campaign each month.
Musk discussed the apparent misinformation during a two-hour interview with psychologist Jordan Peterson, posted Monday on X.
"What’s been reported in the media is simply not true," Musk told Peterson during the interview on X, which the South African native owns.
Despite denying the massive monthly donations, Musk said he supports Trump and that the former president showed "instinctual courage" during the assassination attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. The 53-year-old said the attack on Trump led to his endorsement for the November election, and that his fondness for the former president is not based on his "cult of personality, but rather a set of shared principles.
"We have got a choice of administrations and we have to pick one," Musk said. "There are flaws on both sides."
Musk went on to say that "we need a change of administration" and that the Democratic Party is now the "censorship party under the guise of hate speech."
Elon Musk develops nonpartisan 'America PAC'
What Musk has done is create a super PAC, a political action committee that can receive unlimited funding that can be used to help political campaigns. He called it the "America PAC."
"You can donate money directly to candidates, that amount is fairly small," Musk said. "You can donate a lot more money to a political action committee, or a super PAC... it certainly allows for a lot more money in the system than what otherwise would be possible."
When questioned whether the super PAC funds would go toward Democrat and Republican campaigns, Musk said "yes."
"It's not meant to be sort of a hyperpartisan PAC," Musk said about the America PAC. "The intent is to promote the principles that make America great in the first place."
Regarding Trump's MAGA slogan, Musk said he is more about "making America greater."
Wall Street Journal previously reported Musk would donate $45 million a month to Trump
The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk would be donating $45 million a month to a new super political-action committee backing Trump’s presidential run, citing "people familiar with the manner."
Other backers of America PAC include Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale, the Winklevoss twins, former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and her husband, Joe Craft, who is chief executive of coal producer Alliance Resource Partners, according to the WSJ.
America PAC was formed in June to register voters and encourage constituents to vote early and request mail-in ballots in swing states, one of the people familiar with the super PAC said, per the WSJ.
When the WSJ published its article, in response, Musk posted a meme from his X account with the caption "FAKE GNUS." He then wrote "Yeah" in response to a post that said: “Elon Musk went from being an Obama voter to pledging $180 million to elect DJT. The woke left really f----- up. Badly.”
During Musk's interview with Peterson, he said he once supported President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their campaigns.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk denies report of $45 million donations to Trump: 'Not true'