- Elon Musk’s private planes made eight flights to Pennsylvania this past week, flight logs show.
- Musk has been actively endorsing Donald Trump, holding rallies in key Pennsylvania cities.
- Some Tesla employees tell BI they aren’t happy about Musk’s campaigning. Others are indifferent.
Flight logs viewed by Business Insider show how the world’s richest man is going all-in to elect former president Donald Trump.
Elon Musk’s private planes took eight flights to and from Pennsylvania over the past week as the billionaire rallied voters.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Musk was considering door-knocking in battleground states like Pennsylvania. And Musk’s flight records show the billionaire’s plane has been traversing the state, according to data from the flight-tracking website JetSpy.
Musk appeared with Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on October 5. He later held a series of solo rallies in honor of Trump in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from October 15 to October 20.
At the Pittsburgh rally on Sunday, Musk told attendees he’d rather be spending his time working at SpaceX rather than involved in politics, “but the stakes are so high, I’ve had no choice but to take a stand.”
“This election, I think, is going to decide the fate of America, and along with the fate of America, the fate of Western civilization,” Musk said.
JetSpy data shows Musk’s two private jets spent nearly 14 hours in the air, repeatedly flying to and from airports in Philadelphia, State College, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh from October 15 to October 20. JetSpy estimates the flights burned about $40,000 worth of fuel, emitting about 65 metric tons of carbon.
On his busiest flying day, October 16, Musk’s two jets took four flights.
His primary plane flew from Philadelphia to Savannah, Georgia, then to State College, Pennsylvania, and back to Philadelphia. His other jet flew from Philadelphia to Hawthorne, California, the site of SpaceX’s former headquarters, after flying from Austin to Philadelphia the day before.
Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
Musk’s aggressive backing of Trump
Musk has increasingly turned his attention toward the presidential election over the past year, throwing his money in addition to his influence behind Trump’s campaign. The billionaire has invested nearly $75 million of his own money into a pro-Trump super PAC called “America PAC,” per a document filed with the Federal Election Commission.
And on Sunday, Musk announced he would give $1 million handouts to some people in swing states who signed his petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms.
Musk’s Trump endorsement is a major time commitment for a man involved with running six different companies. In the weeks leading up to Musk’s Pennsylvania rallies, SpaceX launched its fifth Starship test flight, successfully catching the spacecraft’s Super Heavy booster for the first time. And Tesla hosted its highly anticipated Robotaxi Day, which underwhelmed investors.
While Musk has been campaigning for Trump, Tesla has been preparing for its third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Musk will likely face questions from investors during the call regarding the recent Robotaxi event. Tesla’s stock fell 9% the day after the event and is down 12% year-to-date.
Some Tesla employees aren’t happy about Musk’s endorsement of Trump. The workers chose to speak anonymously for fear of professional reprisal, but their identities are known to Business Insider.
“I think there’s a feeling his focus is not with Tesla right now,” one Tesla engineer from California told BI.
Another Trump presidency could give Musk more power and influence. Trump has said he would name Musk as head of a new “government efficiency commission.”
An employee based in Texas said Musk’s politics have spurred little discussion internally. “People here are too busy and care too much about doing their jobs well to spend much time thinking about controversial topics,” the Texas employee said.
Others said they don’t understand why Musk’s political activities are the subject of media attention at all.
“No one asks Mary Barra who she’s voting for,” a current Tesla employee in Nevada told BI, referencing General Motors’ CEO.
Read the full article here
