Billionaire Elon Musk has endorsed Republican former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House, but employees at his collection of companies are largely donating to Mr Trump's Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
Workers at Tesla have contributed $42,824 (€38,497) to Ms Harris' presidential campaign versus $24,840 (€22,330) to Mr Trump's campaign, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks US campaign contributions and lobbying data.
Employees at Mr Musk's rocket company SpaceX have donated $34,5264 (€31,038) to Ms Harris versus $7,652 (€6,879) to Mr Trump. Employees at the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, have donated $13,213 (€11,878) to Ms Harris versus less than $500 (€449) to Mr Trump.
While the figures are relatively small for campaign fundraising, they indicate political leanings at odds with Mr Musk's own. The world's richest man, Mr Musk has boosted Mr Trump on X and dismissed left-leaning ideas as a "woke-mind virus".
Mr Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He backed president Joe Biden in 2020 but has tacked rightward since then. Mr Trump has said that if he wins the November 5th election, he will appoint Mr Musk to lead a government efficiency commission.
The OpenSecrets data includes donations from company employees and owners and those individuals' immediate family members. Campaign finance laws prohibit companies themselves from donating to federal campaigns.
Many of Mr Musk's employees are based in California, a Democratic stronghold, said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, which is a Tesla shareholder. Mr Gerber is also an investor in X.
In July, Mr Musk said he would move X and SpaceX headquarters to Texas from California because of a California gender-identity law he called the "last straw".
Mr Gerber said such a move would mean "losing out on a lot of potential talent" in California.
