Elon Musk is going 'founder mode' in his bid to get Donald Trump elected
Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
- Elon Musk's efforts to boost support for Donald Trump reflect how the Tesla CEO runs his companies.
- The founder-mode intensity Musk brings to business is creating waves in politics.
- As of Friday, Musk had spent just under $119 million on his Pro-Trump America PAC.
Back in 2018, before he owned the place, Elon Musk posted on Twitter, now X, that "nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week."
Musk is now deploying his trademark intensity, money, and norm-smashing to elevate a brand beyond his business empire: Donald Trump.
The Tesla CEO has been barnstorming through the keystone swing state of Pennsylvania, holding his own rallies and cutting $1 million checks to a lucky few who sign his petition.
As of Friday, Musk had spent just shy of $119 million on his Pro-Trump America PAC and donated $924,600 to Trump 47, which is a joint fundraising committee.
Musk has most often shown this level of effort in running his businesses. His tales of getting stuff done at any cost are legend. They include sleeping on a couch in his factories and on the floor beneath his desk so that his workers could see him when they were changing shifts.
Musk going Founder Mode is compelling to many. His business efforts have made him the world's richest man and he has built a loyal following that has garnered him cheers and applause at events more akin to the reaction to rock stars than CEOs.
Experts in communication and political science who have studied Musk's approach to business told Business Insider that his political exploits share a similar DNA to that of his heads-down manner of running his companies.
"He has brought all of those same sort of mechanisms and strategies of his leadership style to his involvement in politics," Brian Ott, a distinguished professor in the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism, and Film at Missouri State University, told BI.
BI requested comment from Musk and from the Trump campaign but didn't hear back from either.
A new metric for success
Musk endorsed Trump in July following the assassination attempt against him. Since then, Musk has been actively campaigning for the former president.
"I haven't been politically active before, I'm politically active now because I think the future of America and the future of civilization is at stake," Musk said at a town hall he hosted in Swatara Township in Pennsylvania last Saturday.
The race remains especially tight with 10 days to go until the election.
According to a national poll by The New York Times and Siena College published Friday, Trump and Harris are tied for the popular vote at 48% and 48%, respectively.
It's not clear whether Musk's efforts on behalf of Trump have had or will have any impact. He's not showing any signs of slowing down, though. He has been giving away $1 million checks to registered voters in key swing states who sign his petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Agustin Ferrari Braun, a media researcher at the University of Amsterdam, told BI that Musk's efforts might activate his fans to whip up support for Trump on social platforms like X.
It could mean more of them become invested in Trump's campaign than might have otherwise, Ferrari Braun said.
He said it's an approach not dissimilar to how Musk handled difficult EV rollouts at Tesla. Musk creates a narrative, and he essentially "willed it into being," Ferrari Braun said.
Ferrari Braun said Musk uses his celebrity to get people to buy into a vision.
"He's trying to do the same thing for the election," Ferrari Braun said.