Elon Musk’s Pro-Trump Backers Invest Millions in Facebook Ads for X: Report

Elon Musk’s Mr. Pack spends significantly more on advertising on Facebook and YouTube compared to Musk’s own social network, X.

America Pac allocated $201,000 for running numerous ads on X (formerly Twitter) in the past three months. However, the organization spent $3 million on thousands of ads on Facebook and Instagram over a similar timeframe. Musk established the pro-Donald Trump pack in July and provided it with around $75 million, as per filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Based on political advertising disclosures, America Pac invested over $166,000 on 59 ads on X from July 8 to October 1. wired. After Musk assumed control of Pac’s @America handle on October 7, the company spent approximately $34,000 on X ads. bloomberg Reported. These ads were targeted at various battleground states, with a focus on Pennsylvania, generating about 32 million impressions according to Wired.

Contrasting these figures with America Pac’s ad purchases on Facebook, the organization spent over $3 million on 1,910 ads during a 90-day period from July 22 to October 19, some of which were also duplicated on Instagram, as per Meta’s ad library. The ads targeted users in states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Arizona.

Around 12 ads from America Pac received over 1 million impressions, while others garnered hundreds of thousands. The Meta ad library doesn’t provide total impressions for individual advertisers, making direct comparisons with X ads more challenging.

Musk’s Pack also heavily invested in Google, particularly YouTube. According to the Google Ads Transparency Center, America Pac spent $1.5 million on 251 ads with Google and its subsidiaries since early July, which is ten times higher than what was spent on X. A significant portion of the ads were video advertisements, primarily targeting Georgia, as revealed in Google’s disclosure.

With over 200 million followers on X, Musk has a massive audience reach without incurring costs. Musk frequently retweets America Pack’s content, despite Pac having fewer than 7,000 followers.

The increase in Facebook spending signifies Musk’s shifting geographic focus. Audience data from Meta’s ad library indicated that a large percentage of America Pac’s ads in the past 90 days targeted North Carolina. However, in the recent seven days, over 25% of the ads focused on Pennsylvania, where Musk has been actively campaigning in person.

Facebook’s targeting options enable advertisers to reach specific audiences based on interests. America Pac tailored its ads to users intrigued by various subjects like Kelsey Grammer, trophy hunting, Kid Rock, the Boy Scouts of America, and Joe Rogan, among others.

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Since Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it as X in 2022, he has highlighted its advertising capabilities and app store performance. Even in 2023, advertising constituted 70-75% of X’s total revenue. bloomberg This trend persisted despite Musk introducing Twitter Blue, a subscription product. X’s revenue in 2023 amounted to $2.5 billion, nearly half of the previous year, primarily due to reduced advertising expenditure.

Musk is also focusing on organizing in-person events. He pledged to donate $1 million per day until the election to registered voters supporting America Pac’s petition. Musk has been awarding giant novelty checks at rallies in Pennsylvania over the recent days.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Elon Musk to Donate $45 Million Monthly to Pro-Trump Super PAC, Sources Say

According to The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk has announced plans to donate $45 million per month from July onwards to support a super PAC working towards the election of Donald Trump.

Musk, a tech billionaire who recently endorsed Trump, has already made a substantial donation to America PAC. The exact amount of this donation will be revealed in election filings on July 15, as per Bloomberg.

Reports from both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are based on anonymous sources familiar with Musk’s plans. With an estimated net worth of $252 billion, Musk is considered one of the wealthiest individuals globally.

The potential donation from Musk is described as “tremendous” by The Wall Street Journal, highlighting that the largest known donation in the 2024 election cycle so far is $50 million. This amount was contributed by the great-grandson of banker Thomas Mellon to a pro-Trump super PAC.

As of June 30, there were no records of Musk donating to the super PAC, according to a review by The New York Times.

America PAC has garnered support from Musk’s tech industry associates, as reported by The New York Times. Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir with Peter Thiel, has also endorsed the PAC, along with the Winklevoss twins, crypto entrepreneurs critical of Biden’s policies.

America PAC, launched recently, aims to finance robust Republican voter mobilization initiatives in key states to counter Democratic efforts, according to The New York Times.

Contrary to earlier reports, Musk clarified in a tweet in March that he had not made any donations to U.S. presidential candidates.

Source: www.theguardian.com