Elon Musk signals plans to dial back political spending

Billionaire Elon Musk has said he expects to dial back his political donations, a major shift from the figure who shook up the 2024 election as a top donor to President Donald Trump.

Musk, who ultimately spent more than $250m (£187m) in support of Trump's campaign, told an economic conference in Qatar that he planned to do "a lot less" spending in the future.

He also said he was committed to leading electric car company Tesla for another five years.

The comments come just a few weeks after he said he would step back from leading the controversial White House effort to slash federal spending, commonly called Doge.

Musk was dealt a political blow earlier this year after the candidate he backed to join the Wisconsin Supreme Court was defeated, despite receiving more than $20m from Musk and groups he supports.

Asked whether he expected to continue his political spending at scale, Musk told the conference he felt he had "done enough".

"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it," he said.

"I do not currently see a reason," he added.

Musk had largely stayed out of the political arena until last year, and his high-dollar entry raised scrutiny of his companies, which also include rocket firm Starlink and social media company X.

Concerns about conflicts of interest bubbled up as he became an influential figure in Trump's White House, given some of his companies have contracts with the federal government while some have been investigated by the government.

There were also protests and boycotts of Tesla against his steps to get rid of thousands of federal workers and to give his Doge team access to government information.

As sales sank, Tesla's board and investors began to worry publicly that he was not focused enough on the company that helped make him a billionaire.

With public opinion souring, Musk also ran into limits to his political influence.

Trump forged ahead with tariffs, against Musk's advice, while Doge's spending cuts have fallen short of the trillions in dollars in savings Musk originally pledged to achieve.

At the conference Musk defended Doge's performance, noting it has little power over spending.

"We are simply the adviser," he said. "In that context we are doing very well."

He also disputed reports by the UN and others that Doge's cuts have had a devastating impact on people helped by initiatives previously backed by the US, such as HIV/AIDS prevention.

Musk said he had taken the backlash, which included violent attacks on Tesla cars, personally.

But when asked if he had any regrets about his political activities, Musk said: "I did what needed to be done."

He brushed off worries about the impact on Tesla, saying it was doing well outside of Europe.

"It's already turned around," he said, noting Tesla's share price has risen recently. "We see no problem with demand."

Bloomberg journalist Mishal Hussain, who conducted the on-stage interview at the conference, pressed Musk about whether his commitment to Tesla was contingent on pay.

The world's richest person has been pushing to receive a record-breaking compensation package, which has been twice rejected by a federal judge.

"It's not a money thing," Musk said. "It's a reasonable control thing."