Democrats say an emphatic ‘No!’ to taking Elon Musk’s money in the future
Tesla billionaire may or may not be on the outs with Trump but Democrats are not buying in
In the wee hours of Wednesday, Elon Musk apologized for some of his attacks on President Donald Trump. The week before, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency and CEO for Tesla had trashed Trump’s signature domestic legislation and even accused him of being in the files of the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Democrats relished the devolution of the relationship between the president and the richest man in the world.
But don’t expect them to take money from Musk if he were to suddenly offer it to Democrats.
True, as the head of an electric car company, some Democrats saw Musk as somebody who could help combat climate change. And in the past, Musk had given to Democrats and had even supported Barack Obama’s candidacy before he made a hard shift right and bankrolled numerous Republican candidates, including Trump in 2024.
But Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington, who had previously received money from Musk, told The Independent “no” when asked if she would take any campaign cash from Musk.
Other Democrats who had received money from Musk in the past were a bit more emphatic. As a congressman, Sen. Adam Schiff received money from Musk.
But the Californian Schiff, a leader of the impeachments against him who is a frequent target of Trump’s insults, said he would not take money from Musk.
“No,” he told The Independent. “Nor would I buy a Tesla.”
Musk became a flashpoint for many Democrats and liberals ever since his purchase of Twitter, which he later renamed X, in 2022. As part of his rightward shift, he promoted conspiracy theories about the near-fatal home-invasion hammer attack on former House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
He also had said his goal is to defeat the “woke mind virus” and as owner of X, he reinstated Trump’s account.
Musk famously appeared alongside Trump during his return to rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump had previously been the victim of an assassination attempt weeks earlier, when he skipped and jumped around the stage as Trump spoke.
When Trump won, Musk was made the head of DOGE, where he quickly and summarily gutted numerous government agencies, such as the US Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His chainsaw cuts also led to numerous National Park rangers losing their jobs.
Musk quickly became a target of Democratic invective and criticism.
During Wisconsin’s supreme court election, Musk poured in millions into political action committees to elect the conservative candidate, only to be humiliated when liberal-leaning judge Susan Crawford won.
When The Independent asked Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin if she would take money from Musk in the future, she let out an emphatic, “No.”
“Can I ask you, has a foreign government offered you a plane recently?” Baldwin further responded, in reference to Trump receiving a $400m jet from Qatar’s government.
Shortly after the loss, Musk said he would retreat from politics. But he also began to clash with other members of the administration, criticizing Trump’s top adviser on trade Peter Navarro for Navarro’s zeal for tariffs, which Musk opposes.
Musk left the White House late last month seemingly on good terms, before he proceeded to trash the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” the Republican tax cut and domestic spending bill that passed the House last month, as the a “outrageous, pork-filled, disgusting abomination.”
Musk also repeatedly antagonized Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the progressive insurgent. Despite the fact Ocasio-Cortez owned a Tesla, Musk promoted a parody account pretending to be her.
Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent she would not take money from Musk.
“I don't take money from billionaires,” she told The Independent.
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