Reuters reports:

Elon Musk secretly funded a conservative political group in recent years, according to four people familiar with his donations, illustrating quiet financial support for right-wing causes even before the billionaire entrepreneur in July endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for re-election.

Two of the people familiar with the donations told Reuters that Musk’s contributions to the organization, Building America’s Future, had started by 2022. One of those people and a third source said the donations amounted to millions of dollars, significantly boosting a group whose advertisements and social media campaigns have criticized the Biden administration and progressive political platforms of the sort that Musk himself has increasingly denounced.

Reuters was unable to determine a precise amount and timeline for the contributions or identify documentation linking the organization’s finances to Musk. Earlier on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had financed other pro-Republican groups.

Musk didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.

A spokesperson for Building America’s Future didn’t respond, either.

The magnate behind ventures including carmaker Tesla, space contractor SpaceX and the social media platform X, Musk for many years was careful to avoid suggestions that he favored either major U.S. political party. As recently as March, months before he publicly backed Trump and announced plans to finance a political action committee to work against Democrats, he wrote on social media: “Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President.”

Donations to Building America’s Future, however, would show he was already using his vast resources to fund right-wing causes. As a non-profit 501(c)(4) group, the organization isn’t required by federal law to disclose its financial backers.

Although such groups aren’t allowed to finance candidates’ political campaigns, they can espouse political causes. As such, they are commonly referred to as “dark money” groups – used by political operatives, Democrats and Republicans alike, to hide the financial origins of influence campaigns.

In Musk’s case, the four people familiar with his donations told Reuters, the contributions to Building America’s Future remained closely guarded. [Continue reading…]