4 ms·

Elon Musk revealed as one of the largest donors for a House Republican PAC

12 points by fahd777 8y ago

Ancalagon 8y ago
Well this certainly is an interesting piece. I really dont know what to believe, especially considering I dont really know if I trust the source (salon.com? Never heard of em). I cant really say Im a huge Musk fan, considering I agree that the whole cave stunt was likely nothing more than a PR campaign for him, but this seems quite silly for him to do, if true.
- erric 8y ago
  Not defending him, but I would imagine people in his position play and pay to both parties.
  - stuaxo 8y ago
    I think it came out his payments are about 2 to 1 in favour of the R side.
    - kalleboo 8y ago
      Maybe because Democrat opinion is already on his side and needs less "persuasion"?
      - squarefoot 8y ago
        "Keep your friends close to you, but keep your enemies even closer." As much as I generally like him, he denied being a top donor, which is not like denying any donation. He should clarify that.
- eesmith 8y ago
  I don't understand your concern about Salon.com. It's a synthesis from several different sources, and it provides links to the sources. The donation information comes from ProPublica. Musk's $33,900 donation is at https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/filing/1246378/schedule/sa#AD58122C40CC343FFA20 https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/filing/1246378/sche... . That in turn links to the primary information at http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00669622/1246378/sa/ALL http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00669622/1246378/sa/A... , where you can see an entry for 33900.00. (The aggregate donation is 38900.00.) Why did you need to trust Salon.com when the official information is so readily available for verification? Or is there something else from the piece that you are hesitant about?
  - Ancalagon 8y ago
    I stand corrected, I did not give my due diligence to following the source trail and verifying the veracity of the website.
- tenpies 8y ago
  Salon has been around for a while and they're not quite what you would call "fake news", but they are very Left leaning and "progressive". They also tend to focus a lot more opinion and analysis, so while the facts are probably correct, the context is entirely speculative and about as biased as you can get from the that end of the spectrum.
- DanAndersen 8y ago
  Why would it be quite silly for him to do? CEOs donate to political parties and PACs all the time.
- perilunar 8y ago
  > (salon.com? Never heard of em) Salon was pretty popular in the early days of the web. I used to read it in the mid-late 90s.
iamcreasy 8y ago
"Reports that I am a top donor to GOP are categorically false. I am not a top donor to any political party." - Elon Musk on Twitter Source: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018330925384458240 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018330925384458240
- maxerickson 8y ago
  Is there a tweet where he denies giving money to this particular PAC? I imagine $35,000 puts you on a fairly short list.
PoarNeemn 8y ago
So is Elon Musk also a racist and a sexist now? People must be pretty conflicted at the moment between hating Trump and loving Musk.
fallingfrog 8y ago
I don't get it, if you really care so much about renewable energy and the future of humankind, then why donate to a party that will remove all subsidies on electric cars, denies that climate change exists, escalates the nuclear arms race, etc etc etc?
- Fuckyourself 8y ago
  You don't understand how politics work, just stop.
maxharris 8y ago
This headline is misleading. Nate Silver writes: "It's extremely misleading not to mention Musk has a long history of also donating to Democrats, including in this political cycle." https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1018211558835404800 https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1018211558835404800
- mc32 8y ago
  It’s selective outrage to score brownie points with followers and to one up your other virtue signaling wrestlers. Anyone in any major industry is donating to multiple parties and candidates. Who are they going to bug from now, Ford? Oh, noes! They donate to Republican too. Meanwhile he donated 20x to the Sierra Club and for some reason that’s totally ignored.
  - eesmith 8y ago
    The CEO of Ford doesn't claim to be a socialist of any flavor. Nearly all of Hackett's contributions have gone to Republicans, with only a couple to Democrats. (According to opensecrets.org .) It is indeed a fact that a company may donate to both Democrats and Republicans to garner influence with whomever wins. Quoting from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk : "Musk further stated, "in order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution"". Quoting from https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018333202140680192 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018333202140680192 "a reasonable amount to maintain an open dialogue". That may be true. If so, isn't it a sign of how the system is rigged in favor of rich? The complaint for decades has been that both major parties are in the pocket of large businesses and rich people - doesn't this support that view? Who listens to those of us who can't drop tens of thousands dollars to participate in the dialogue? FWIW, the Sierra Club number is more like 150x, not 20x - https://thinkprogress.org/elon-musk-house-gop-contributions-ed4cfe71c22c/ https://thinkprogress.org/elon-musk-house-gop-contributions-... says "Michael Brune, said on Twitter that Musk has donated $6 million to Sierra Club’s climate advocacy."
    - mc32 8y ago

12 points by fahd777 8y ago

Well this certainly is an interesting piece. I really dont know what to believe, especially considering I dont really know if I trust the source (salon.com? Never heard of em). I cant really say Im a huge Musk fan, considering I agree that the whole cave stunt was likely nothing more than a PR campaign for him, but this seems quite silly for him to do, if true.

erric 8y ago
Not defending him, but I would imagine people in his position play and pay to both parties.
- stuaxo 8y ago
  I think it came out his payments are about 2 to 1 in favour of the R side.
  - kalleboo 8y ago
    Maybe because Democrat opinion is already on his side and needs less "persuasion"?
    - squarefoot 8y ago
      "Keep your friends close to you, but keep your enemies even closer." As much as I generally like him, he denied being a top donor, which is not like denying any donation. He should clarify that.
eesmith 8y ago
I don't understand your concern about Salon.com. It's a synthesis from several different sources, and it provides links to the sources. The donation information comes from ProPublica. Musk's $33,900 donation is at https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/filing/1246378/schedule/sa#AD58122C40CC343FFA20 https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/filing/1246378/sche... . That in turn links to the primary information at http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00669622/1246378/sa/ALL http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00669622/1246378/sa/A... , where you can see an entry for 33900.00. (The aggregate donation is 38900.00.) Why did you need to trust Salon.com when the official information is so readily available for verification? Or is there something else from the piece that you are hesitant about?
- Ancalagon 8y ago
  I stand corrected, I did not give my due diligence to following the source trail and verifying the veracity of the website.
tenpies 8y ago
Salon has been around for a while and they're not quite what you would call "fake news", but they are very Left leaning and "progressive". They also tend to focus a lot more opinion and analysis, so while the facts are probably correct, the context is entirely speculative and about as biased as you can get from the that end of the spectrum.
DanAndersen 8y ago
Why would it be quite silly for him to do? CEOs donate to political parties and PACs all the time.
perilunar 8y ago
> (salon.com? Never heard of em) Salon was pretty popular in the early days of the web. I used to read it in the mid-late 90s.

iamcreasy 8y ago

"Reports that I am a top donor to GOP are categorically false. I am not a top donor to any political party." - Elon Musk on Twitter Source: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018330925384458240 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018330925384458240

maxerickson 8y ago
Is there a tweet where he denies giving money to this particular PAC? I imagine $35,000 puts you on a fairly short list.

PoarNeemn 8y ago

So is Elon Musk also a racist and a sexist now? People must be pretty conflicted at the moment between hating Trump and loving Musk.

fallingfrog 8y ago

I don't get it, if you really care so much about renewable energy and the future of humankind, then why donate to a party that will remove all subsidies on electric cars, denies that climate change exists, escalates the nuclear arms race, etc etc etc?

Fuckyourself 8y ago
You don't understand how politics work, just stop.

maxharris 8y ago

This headline is misleading. Nate Silver writes: "It's extremely misleading not to mention Musk has a long history of also donating to Democrats, including in this political cycle." https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1018211558835404800 https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1018211558835404800

mc32 8y ago
It’s selective outrage to score brownie points with followers and to one up your other virtue signaling wrestlers. Anyone in any major industry is donating to multiple parties and candidates. Who are they going to bug from now, Ford? Oh, noes! They donate to Republican too. Meanwhile he donated 20x to the Sierra Club and for some reason that’s totally ignored.
- eesmith 8y ago
  The CEO of Ford doesn't claim to be a socialist of any flavor. Nearly all of Hackett's contributions have gone to Republicans, with only a couple to Democrats. (According to opensecrets.org .) It is indeed a fact that a company may donate to both Democrats and Republicans to garner influence with whomever wins. Quoting from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk : "Musk further stated, "in order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution"". Quoting from https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018333202140680192 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1018333202140680192 "a reasonable amount to maintain an open dialogue". That may be true. If so, isn't it a sign of how the system is rigged in favor of rich? The complaint for decades has been that both major parties are in the pocket of large businesses and rich people - doesn't this support that view? Who listens to those of us who can't drop tens of thousands dollars to participate in the dialogue? FWIW, the Sierra Club number is more like 150x, not 20x - https://thinkprogress.org/elon-musk-house-gop-contributions-ed4cfe71c22c/ https://thinkprogress.org/elon-musk-house-gop-contributions-... says "Michael Brune, said on Twitter that Musk has donated $6 million to Sierra Club’s climate advocacy."
  - mc32 8y ago