Washington:

Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest men, says he won’t directly support Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the US election, but one look at his X feed makes it clear he His heart is with the Republican Party.

Meanwhile, Trump needs cash — saddled with millions of dollars in legal troubles and bracing for the most expensive election in U.S. history.

So can Musk save Trump?

In a recent interview with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, the owner of X, formerly Twitter, said he was “distancing himself” from Biden but insisted he was “unlikely to “Contribute to any campaign.

If he chooses to support a candidate, “I will provide a very detailed explanation of why I support one of the candidates.”

To those who follow Musk closely, however, it appears to be a departure from the firm pledge he made just days ago to stay away from the controversy.

Trump is calling billionaires, asking them to open their checkbooks and come to his rescue, The Washington Post reports.

Trump doesn’t like to snub those who are wealthier than him, but the former president trails Biden badly in fundraising and there are still eight months left in the campaign.

billionaire breakfast

Trump and Musk are two of the most public and controversial figures in the world, but they don’t always see eye to eye.

For one thing, Trump doesn’t believe in the electric cars championed by Tesla CEO Musk — whom he derides as inconvenient and dependent on government subsidies.

Musk kept his distance during his presidency from 2016 to 2020 — though that was before he openly lurched to the far right.

Musk also flirted with alternatives to Trump in the Republican primary, voicing support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy before he flamed out.

Observers agree that Trump kept silent about Musk’s illegal behavior in hopes of getting his money.

The Washington Post revealed that Musk attended a Billionaires Breakfast in Florida last month, where the former president made a pitch to a group of donors.

That quickly sparked speculation, but Musk said “it’s just breakfast” and wouldn’t reveal more.

“Black money”

Under U.S. election law, if Musk wants to help Trump more directly, he can anonymously hand over an unlimited amount of cash.

Musk, whom critics call “dark money,” is able to invisibly fund candidates through specially created nonprofit groups called “Super PACS.”

“These groups can run ads that literally say ‘Vote Trump’” without disclosing the funding behind them, said Shanna Portes, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.

Another avenue is ex post facto donations: Musk could help Trump eliminate debt after the election, thereby avoiding angering the current occupant of the White House.

Trump has also been rumored in recent weeks to suggest that Musk buy his social media platform, Truth Social, and merge it with X.

Truth Social’s parent company went public last week, with its shares initially soaring on Wall Street. That means Trump, who owns nearly 80 million shares in the venture, is now estimated to hold billions of shares, meaning he may no longer be so desperate for cash.

But the wealth is only on paper, and financial experts warn that the massive valuation could disappear if Trump tries to sell his shares.

‘flammable’

Money aside, Musk’s political leanings give Trump a clear boost.

His social media presence is often filled with baseless conspiracy theories, disinformation and right-wing talking points consistent with Trump, especially on immigration.

They also happen on a platform he owns—where he has the freedom to promote (or demote) certain content.

The Federal Election Commission has received complaints about perceived bias from some platforms in the past but has never taken action.

Nora Benavidez, senior counsel at the Free Press Watchdog, said: “These factors combine to give us a combustible moment where the experience on Twitter (X) is in the hands of one In the hands of a haphazard, capricious billionaire, he got bored and used it to promote his own views.”

Whether he donates or not, “Musk’s influence is very powerful,” she added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)