Workers at Tesla, SpaceX and Musk’s X donate to Harris as he backs Trump.

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk has backed former Republican President Donald Trump in his race for the White House, but employees at his collection of companies are donating heavily to Trump’s Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

Workers at Tesla (NASDAQ: of lobbying.

Employees of Musk’s SpaceX rocket company donated $34,526 to Harris, compared to $7,652 to Trump. Employees of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, donated $13,213 to Harris, compared to less than $500 to Trump.

While the numbers are relatively small for campaign fundraising, they indicate political leanings at odds with Musk’s. The world’s richest man, Musk pushed Trump on X and dismissed left-wing ideas as a “virus of the woke mind.”

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020, but has since drifted to the right. Trump has said that if he wins the Nov. 5 election, he will appoint Musk to lead a government efficiency commission.

OpenSecrets data includes donations from company employees and owners and those individuals’ immediate family members. Campaign finance laws prohibit companies 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.