As the former Republican president looks for a significant financial boost for his most recent reelection campaign, Donald Trump met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, one of the richest people on the planet, over the weekend in Florida, according to a report published by The New York Times on Tuesday.
Three sources who spoke to the newspaper under the condition of anonymity after being told about Sunday’s private meeting in Palm Beach were quoted by The Times.
The Times reports that Musk and a few affluent Republican donors met on Sunday, and Trump expressed the intention of speaking with Musk one-on-one shortly. Musk is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Inc. in addition to being the owner-executive chairman of X, the social media platform that was once known as Twitter.
Requests for response from Reuters were not immediately answered by Musk or the Trump campaign.
Trump is seeking to secure more significant donors for his presidential campaign, according to the Times. His personal wealth has recently suffered due to rulings against him in a defamation lawsuit and a civil fraud case in New York.
Musk has not stated if he intends to provide financial support for Trump’s presidential campaign. However, the wealthy businessman, who was born in South Africa, has implied in social media posts that he is against President Joe Biden, the Democrat who defeated Trump in 2020 and was re-elected in November.
With a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine to be close to $200 billion, Musk possesses the financial means to nearly completely neutralize the significant financial edge that Biden and his allies are anticipated to have over Trump in the general election in 2024.
According to the Times, Musk has long attempted to present himself as politically impartial. He has also reportedly contributed pretty equally to both Democrats and Republicans in previous presidential contests, without making significant expenditures.
