Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a meeting with former President Donald Trump on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, along with undisclosed wealthy Republican donors, as reported by the New York Times, based on information from three individuals who were briefed on the meeting.
Trump is seeking donations as he prepares for a general election campaign against President Joe Biden. It remains to be seen whether Musk will provide financial support or endorse Trump and his 2024 campaign.
Requests for comment from Musk and a representative of Trump’s campaign went unanswered.
On March 2, private jets owned by Trump and Musk were seen landing at a Palm Beach airport within close proximity of each other. Online reports from “Elon Jet,” a service that tracks over 125 jets belonging to politicians, celebrities, and executives using publicly available data, first revealed the jets’ arrivals.
In September 2023, Musk visited the White House to discuss artificial intelligence technology, but did not have a meeting with Biden during that visit.
Musk, who leads SpaceX, a defense contractor, in addition to Tesla, did not endorse Trump in the 2016 or 2020 elections.
The relationship between Musk and Trump has been contentious at times.
In June 2017, Musk resigned from advisory councils of then-President Trump due to Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accords.
In 2022, Trump called Musk a “bull—- artist,” alleging that Musk claimed to have voted for Trump in private conversations between them. Musk publicly refuted the claim, stating that the first time he voted for a Republican was for Mayra Flores in a special election in Texas that year.
Musk has openly criticized both Trump and Biden.
In July 2022, Musk tweeted, “I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.” Trump, in a post on Truth Social, accused Musk of seeking help from the White House for his subsidized projects.
Since Musk took over Twitter and rebranded it as X, he has become more vocal about his political views and has aligned himself with right-wing political figures globally.
In May 2022, Musk accused the Biden administration of neglecting Tesla, despite its prominence in the electric vehicle industry.
In November 2022, following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter with funding from Saudi Arabia, President Biden raised concerns about Musk’s relationships with other countries.
Last year, Musk mentioned he was “leaning” towards supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who later endorsed Trump before the New Hampshire primary.
At the DealBook Summit in November, Musk stated he would not vote for Biden and criticized Nikki Haley, a Republican primary candidate running against Trump, as a “pro-censorship” candidate.
Recently, Musk criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policies on X and expressed support for Republican candidates, including Marty O’Donnell, a composer running for Congress in Nevada, and Jeremy Sylestine, a district attorney candidate in Austin, Texas.
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