Elon Musk claimed Tuesday that he plans to back off from buying American elections, following his failed attempt to purchase a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat earlier this year.
While speaking remotely at the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk was asked whether he intended to go on another shopping spree during the United States’s upcoming midterm elections. The billionaire bureaucrat had dropped a whopping $228 million on Donald Trump’s campaign.
“Are you going to continue to spend at that kind of level on future elections?” asked Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain.
“I think, in terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” Musk replied.
“And why is that?” Husain asked.
“I think I’ve done enough,” Musk said. Some laughter echoed throughout the hall.
“Is it because of blowback?” Husain pressed.
“Well, if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. And I don’t currently see a reason,” he said.
Musk spent at least $20 million to back the Republican candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race—but lost. Afterward, a humiliated Musk pretended he didn’t even care about the results, but it was too late: he’d proved himself a political liability instead of an asset.
Musk’s messy work with the Department of Government Efficiency has tanked public opinion of the current administration, while protesters across the country target their ire at the billionaire bureaucrat and his beloved Tesla dealerships. Musk shed 25 percent of his personal wealth in Trump’s first 100 days in office.
In a humiliating first-quarter earnings report, Musk’s Tesla said that profits had crashed by a whopping 71 percent, falling to a mere $409 million, compared with $1.39 billion from the same quarter last year. There was even a report that Tesla was looking to replace Musk as CEO, which the company promptly dismissed and which sent Musk into a rage.
Earlier in the interview, Husain had asked Musk about Tesla’s tough spot. “I wonder if some of what has happened to Tesla in the last few months—did you take it personally?”
“Yes,” Musk answered, to loud laughter in the audience.
“And did it make you regret, or think twice about your political endeavors?” Husain asked.
After a long pause, Musk replied, “I did what needed to be done.”
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