Elon Musk PAC is leveraging voter data to aid Trump's 2024 election victory over Harris.

• Tech executives, including Elon Musk, are financing a social media advertising campaign for Donald Trump's presidential bid.
• Elon Musk is supporting the Republican nominee over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, through ads on his social media platform, X.
• In the 2024 election, the outcome could be decided by the data collected by Musk's America PAC in over six swing states.

A voter in Michigan may encounter a startling advertisement when searching online.

A video of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is sent to a young man lying in bed late at night, along with a text message urging him to vote.

The man viewing the video types in reply, "This is uncontrollable. What should I do?"

The ad then displays a website for a group called America PAC.

The website claims to assist users in registering to vote, but the experience after clicking "Register to Vote" can vary greatly depending on the user's location.

If a user resides in a state that is not considered competitive in the presidential election, such as California or Wyoming, they will be prompted to provide their email addresses and zip code before being directed to a voter registration page for their state or back to the original sign-up section.

If the zip code entered indicates a battleground state, like Pennsylvania or Georgia, the process is significantly different.

Instead of being directed to their state's voter registration page, they are prompted to enter personal information such as their address, cell phone number, and age on a highly detailed form.

If they agree to submit all that, the system still does not steer them to a voter registration page. Instead, it shows them a "thank you" page.

Did they receive any assistance with voter registration, or did they simply hand over valuable personal information to a political campaign?

Elon Musk's political action committee aims to give Trump an edge in his campaign against Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee.

In a recent interview, Musk stated that he had established a PAC, known as the America PAC.

According to Forbes, Musk owns the social media platform X and has a net worth of over $235 billion.

For the first time, Elon Musk has become a significant influence in an American presidential election due to his ownership of a social media company and the creation of a PAC with unlimited resources.

Musk PAC uses 'register to vote' data

Since early July, the America PAC has spent over $800,000 on digital ads targeting voters in crucial battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, according to AdImpact.

America PAC's website was promoted through Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube ads that urged people to register to vote.

The PAC's strategy to gather information from voters through "voter registration" is crucial to its plan to connect with them personally.

Documented's deputy executive director, Brendan Fischer, stated that America PAC is concentrating on door-to-door canvassing to back Trump.

He stated that the voter data collected through digital appeals will likely inform America PAC's canvassing and other political activities.

Fischer referenced the group's privacy policy, stating that they are permitted to utilize the data they have gathered for "other activities and/or fundraising campaigns."

According to Federal Election Commission filings, America PAC has spent more than $21 million on canvassing, digital media, text message services, and phone calls since June.

Despite the PAC's website not revealing its political leaning, its federal filings indicate that all its work aims to either support Trump or harm his opponent.

Fischer stated that he had observed other PACs attempting to utilize a "register to vote" message in order to collect individuals' information.

The uniqueness of America PAC's project lies in the identity of its supporters and the timing of its inception.

This spring, regulators determined that door-to-door canvassing is not subject to the ban on direct coordination between super PACs and campaigns because it involves a person-to-person exchange rather than an ad.

"America PAC stands out as a billionaire-backed super PAC that focuses on door-to-door canvassing, which it can coordinate with a presidential campaign, thanks to a recent FEC advisory opinion," Fischer said. "As a result of this advisory opinion, America PAC may legally coordinate its canvassing activities with the Trump campaign, meaning that the Trump campaign may provide America PAC with literature and scripts to ensure consistency in their efforts."

""The PAC's coordination with the campaign was a key factor in its appeal to donors, as it ensured that its data-driven canvassing activities were maximally beneficial to the campaign and freed up the campaign's own funds for other uses," he said."

A source with knowledge of the matter revealed that longtime Republican strategists Phil Cox, Generra Peck, and Dave Rexrode are now guiding the PAC after a mid-July shake-up.

The PAC may shift its tactics in November, as reported by The New York Times.

Musk is not the only tech executive backing this effort.

According to FEC records, the America PAC received over $8 million in donations between April 1 and June 30 from various sources, including veteran investor Doug Leone, cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tylor Winklevoss, and a company run by longtime venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale.

Palantir co-founder Lonsdale serves as a political confidant to Musk and leads the PAC, as reported by The New York Times.

Musk has not been listed as a donor in the records yet, although he recently stated on X that he is making some donations to America PAC. The PAC does not need to file a third-quarter report until Oct. 15, which is the first time Musk's name could appear as a donor.

Neither America PAC nor Musk responded to requests for comment.

Musk on X mirrors Musk PAC

The message conveyed in the PAC's social media ads is consistent with the one that Musk frequently promotes to his 191 million followers on X: that America is in turmoil and the only solution is to vote for Trump over Harris.

According to Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Center's elections and government program, these PACs have frequently served as a reflection of the billionaire who supports them.

According to experts, the fact that Musk owns X and there are no restrictions on how he can use it, suggests that the platform could be used by him as a political weapon against Harris and the Democrats with only 100 days left until the election.

It is concerning that the owner of a significant social media platform is openly supporting one candidate and using his platform to promote his partisan agenda, according to Matthew Baum, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, who specializes in studying misinformation.

The possibility of a partisan actor capturing a major social media platform like X, who would then be largely free to use the platform as they see fit, regardless of the potential negative social or political consequences, was highlighted by Baum.

Weiner expressed concern that Musk is using the platform to aid his preferred candidate, Trump.