Elon Musk vows to cut back on political spending

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday that he plans to do “a lot less” political spending going forward, after he spent massively to elect Donald Trump in the last presidential election and emerged as one of the top donors to either party.

“I think I’ve done enough,” Mr Musk, the richest man in the world, said during an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum.

Asked if he planned to spend less because of blowback that has rippled into his business empire, Mr Musk replied: “Well, if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don’t currently see a reason.”

Mr Musk spent at least $US288 million ($447.7m) to elect Trump and other GOP candidates in the November election. Mr Trump then tapped him to lead the US DOGE Service, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency and has led to immense scrutiny of Mr Musk and his companies over its efforts to downsize the federal government.

Mr Musk sought to replicate his political efforts in an April special election for a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, helping make it the most expensive judicial race in US history. But the Republican-aligned candidate lost, and Mr Musk has since stepped back from the political spotlight.

Mr Musk’s comments Tuesday are likely to disappoint GOP strategists who have been hoping he will continue to spend big in the midterms, when Republicans have to defend their narrow House majority. Trump allies have also invoked the spectre of his political spending as they have sought to keep their party in line during Mr Trump’s second term.

Mr Musk was interviewed at the Qatar conference in Doha by the Bloomberg journalist Mishal Husain.

Last month, Tesla reported a double-digit drop in first-quarter deliveries, followed by a stunning 71 percent plunge in first-quarter profits, amid fallout from Mr Musk’s controversial role in the Trump administration. Mr Musk insisted Tuesday that the situation has “already turned around.”

He also painted an optimistic picture of Tesla’s business when Husain asked him about Tesla drivers who have turned on the brand because of his politics. She noted that some Tesla owners have put bumper stickers on their cars that say they bought the vehicles “before Elon went crazy.”

“There are also people who are buying it because Elon is crazy, or however they may view it,” Mr Musk said. “So yes, we’ve lost some sales perhaps on the left, but we’ve gained them on the right. The sales numbers at this point are strong, and we see no problem with demand.”

During another interview later Tuesday, Mr Musk blamed the media when asked about the damage the Tesla brand has suffered as he has gotten more involved in politics.

“Unfortunately, what I’ve learned is that legacy media propaganda is very effective at making people believe things that aren’t true,” Mr Musk told CNBC.

Mr Musk pointed to an incident at a Trump rally in January where he sparked controversy with a hand gesture that was criticised as a Nazi-style salute. He argued the media made too much out of a “random hand gesture at a rally where all I said was that my heart goes out to you and I was talking about space travel.”

The CNBC interview was done at Tesla headquarters in Austin, where Mr Musk confirmed his company will be debuting robotaxis by the end of June. The interview, along with the one earlier Tuesday, appeared meant to show Mr Musk is doubling down on his work at Tesla.

Mr Musk has been working for the Trump administration as a “special government employee” whose term of service is set to expire at the end of this month.

Asked at the Qatar event if he is committed to serving as chief executive of Tesla for another five years, Mr Musk said yes. He responded dryly when asked if there was any doubt about that commitment.

“Well, no, I’d die,” he said.