Although Elon Musk has publicly endorsed Donald Trump, according to data from OpenSecrets, employees of the companies he owns have shown support for Democratic rival Kamala Harris. Specifically, Tesla employees contributed $42,824 to Harris’ campaign, more than double the $24,840 they gave to Trump. At SpaceX, the figure was $34,526 to Harris and $7,652 to Trump. X (formerly Twitter) employees also contributed more than $13,000 to Harris while less than $500 to Trump.

While these numbers may not seem like much, they do show a clear contrast between Musk’s political views and those of his employees. While Musk has openly criticized leftist ideas, calling them “woke virus,” his employees tend to favor Democrats.

Elon Musk has publicly supported Donald Trump

Musk has not commented on the political differences between himself and his employees. He supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 election but has since shifted his support to more conservative policies. Trump recently announced that if he wins on November 5, he will appoint Musk to head a government reform commission.

However, US campaign finance regulations prohibit companies from directly contributing to federal campaigns, and OpenSecrets’ data only includes contributions from individual employees and their family members, not from companies.

Many of Musk’s employees are based in California, a state known for its Democratic political leanings. That may partly explain why they’re backing Harris, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, a Tesla shareholder and X investor.

However, Musk has expressed his intention to move X and SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas, a more conservative state, because of California’s gender identity laws, which Musk has called “the last straw.” However, Gerber said the move could cause Musk to “lose a lot of potential talent” in the state.