America PAC is a super PAC that was created in 2024 by Tesla founder and billionaire Elon Musk and financially supported by allies of Musk. While reported to be a PAC that supports former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, Musk has claimed that the America PAC is nonpartisan and supports a fairly conducted election. ¹

Activities

The America PAC’s website encourages people to register to vote, with options to request an absentee or mail ballot, and to sign a pledge to vote. ² The New York Times reported that this voter turnout program was how the America PAC has primarily spent its reported $21 million on independent expenditures as of late July 2024. ¹

The America PAC’s Facebook page also encourages people to register to vote. America PAC points to concerns over safety, rebuilding the U.S. economy to restore economic prosperity, stopping illegal immigration, and stopping President Joe Biden’s tax hikes. ³

Funding

According to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the America PAC raised $8.75 million between April 1 and June 30, 2024. ⁴

The PAC’s known million-dollar contributors include James John Liautaud, the founder and former chair of the Jimmy John’s sandwich chain; Lonsdale Enterprises, owned by tech entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale; Joe Craft, president and chief executive officer of Alliance Resource Partners; Douglas M. Leone, a billionaire venture capitalist; Antonio Gracias, founder, CEO, and chief innovation officer of Valor and former director of Tesla from 2007 to 2021; and Ken Howery, cofounder and chief financial officer at PayPal and co-founder and partner at the Founders Fund. ⁴

Watershed Capital LLC; Troy Link, president and CEO of Jack Link’s Protein Snacks; Shaun Maguire, partner at Sequoia Capital; and John Hering, executive director and founder of Lookout made $500,000 contributions. ⁴

Cryptocurrency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each contributed $250,000. ⁴

Initial reporting from the Wall Street Journal stated that Elon Musk would be donating $45 million per month to the America PAC. ⁵ The New York Times subsequently reported that Musk said that claim was “not true.” ⁷

People

The New York Times reported that Elon Musk created the America PAC. Musk claims the PAC is not meant to be hyperpartisan, but instead “promote the principles that made America great in the first place.” ¹

Chris Gober is the treasurer of the America PAC and the founder and CEO of both Vantage Legal and the Gober Group. Gober formerly worked as general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, deputy counsel to the Republican National Committee, and counsel in the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice. ⁸

The New York Times reported on July 23, 2024 that Generra Peck and Phil Cox are “quietly” running the America PAC. ¹ Generra Peck is the founder of P2 Public Affairs and the former manager of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s (R) 2022 re-election campaign and was an advisor to former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R). ⁹ Phil Cox is a founding partner at 50 State and sits on the boards of the Senate Leadership Fund and WinRed. Cox is a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association and a former co-chair of Trade Works for America. ¹⁰

The New York Times reported on July 15, 2024 that Dave Rexrode is a key operative of the America PAC. ¹¹ Rexrode is the founder of the Bluestone Strategies and Consulting Group. Rexrode formerly worked as executive director of the Republican Governors Association, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, and as national director of coalitions at the Republican National Committee. ¹²

1. Schleifer, Theodore. “Super PAC Tied to Elon Musk Is Being Guided by Ex-DeSantis Aides.” The New York Times, July 23, 2024. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/23/us/politics/elon-musk-super-pac-desantis.html
2. “Home.” The America PAC. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://theamericapac.org/.
3. “The America PAC.” Facebook. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/theamericapac.
4. “America PAC.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 28, 2024. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00879510/?tab=raising.
5. Gillum, Jack and DeBarros, Anthony. “What Is a Super PAC? How Elon Musk Could Funnel Millions to Help Elect Trump.” The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2024. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/super-pacs-2024-election-campaign-finance-explained-b4895ee9?mod=article_inline.
7. Schleifer, Theodore. “Super PAC Tied to Elon Musk Is Being Guided by Ex-DeSantis Aides.” The New York Times, July 23, 2024. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/23/us/politics/elon-musk-super-pac-desantis.html.[/note] According to FEC filings, Musk has not made any contributions to the America PAC as of June 30, 2024. ⁶  “America PAC.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 28, 2024. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00879510/?tab=raising.
8. “Chris Grober.” The Grober Group. Accessed July 28, 2024. https://gobergroup.com/bios/gober/.
9.  “Generra Peck.” P2 Public Affairs. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://p2publicaffairs.com/team/generra-peck/.
10. “Who We Are.” 50 State. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://50-state.com/.
11. Schleifer, Theodore. “Elon Musk Allies Help Start Pro-Trump Super PAC.” The New York Times, July 15, 2024. Accessed July 28, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/15/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-super-pac.html.
12. “David Rexrode.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 28, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-rexrode-1118594/.