Elon Musk Super PAC Spending Millions Collecting Battleground State Voter Data to Elect Donald Trump

(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

A Super PAC co-founded by Elon Musk is spending millions on data collecting and canvassing in battleground states in an effort to elect Donald Trump in November.

America PAC, which Musk co-founded, had kept a relatively low profile until recent media reports highlighted the unique efforts of the group and its big-name backers. In a July interview with Jordan Peterson , Musk discussed the PAC, which has spent more than $20 million since June, according to FEC filings. Investors beyond Musk include Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss , Joe Lonsdale , and Doug Leone .

One ad the PAC had been using to encourage people to register to vote is the video of the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13. The ad includes someone sending the video to a friend and telling them they need to register to vote, and the friend who received the video is then told how to register, according to a breakdown from CNBC .

The ad promotes the America PAC website , but registration results have been different depending on the state.

Some states like California simply brought users to a registration form, but users from battleground states like Pennsylvania gave them a more detailed form for personal information. There was then no registration form given.

The CNBC report reads:

But for users who enter a ZIP code that indicates they live in a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is very different.

Rather than be directed to their state’s voter registration page, they instead are directed to a highly detailed personal information form, prompted to enter their address, cellphone number and age.

If they agree to submit all that, the system still does not steer them to a voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a “thank you” page.

So that person who wanted help registering to vote? In the end, they got no help at all registering. But they did hand over priceless personal data to a political operation.

The America PAC website posted a message to their website this week saying it was “brought” to their attention that not every user has been completing the voter registration process.

“It was brought to our attention on August 2 that some people may have been unable to complete the registration process on this website on August 1 and 2. If you had any difficulty, please try to complete the registration process again or email info@theamericapac.org for assistance,” the message reads.

The gathering of personal information in favor of simply registering voters is because America PAC is focusing on door-to-door canvassing to promote Trump. The effort could prove to be effective closer to the election and rules about canvassing for Super PACs allows more room for the groups to coordinate with campaigns.

According to an FEC advisory opinion in March, canvassing does not fall under the umbrella of the usual banned direct communication between PACs and campaigns, meaning the campaign could have more influence over the literature and message points made during door-to-door canvassing.

Musk posted an endorsement of Trump to X the same day the former president was shot during a Pennsylvania rally. He’s said since that Trump displayed “courage under fire.”

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote.