Donald Trump ally Elon Musk’s employees are lining up behind Kamala Harris

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has made clear his support for former United States President Donald Trump in the race for the White House.

But employees at his collection of companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and X, donate heavily to the Democratic challenger to Republican presidential nominee Kamala Harris, according to OpenSecrets. Reuters was mentioned.

OpenSecrets, which is a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks U.S. campaign contributions and lobbying data, recently said Tesla employees contributed $42,824 to Harris’ presidential campaign compared to $24,840 to Trump’s campaign.

Employees at Musk’s SpaceX rocket company gave $34,526 to Harris compared to $7,652 to Trump.

Meanwhile, workers at social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, have donated $13,213 to Harris compared to less than $500 to Trump.

While the figures are relatively small for campaign fundraising, they indicate political leanings at odds with Musk’s.

The 53-year-old tech billionaire endorsed Trump on X and dismissed left-wing ideas as an “awakening virus.”

In the 2020 presidential election, Musk endorsed President Joe Biden, but has since drifted to the right. Trump has said that if he wins the Nov. 5 election, he will appoint Musk to head a government efficiency committee.

OpenSecrets data includes donations from company employees and owners and the immediate family members of those individuals.

Campaign finance laws prohibit corporations themselves from donating to federal campaigns.

Many of Musk’s employees are based in California, a Democratic stronghold, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, which owns Tesla. Gerber is also an investor in X.

In July, Musk said he would move X and SpaceX headquarters to Texas from California because of a California gender identity law he called “the last straw.”

Gerber said such a move would mean “losing a lot of potential talent” in California.