Over the past three months, Elon Musk has mobilized his many resources—his extraordinary wealth, his expansive online platform, and his time—towards a cause that could have a profound impact on his personal fortune and American society: the election of Donald Trump.

Musk is going all out: In addition to donating $75 million to America PAC, a group he founded that supports Trump, he has also temporarily relocated to the key swing state of Pennsylvania to effectively implement Trump’s voter turnout strategy all in one War room he set up in Pittsburgh. He’s on the right track, hosting a Trump town hall in a Pennsylvania high school auditorium last week and urging locals to go “wild” with voter registration. And in his latest stunt, he has offered $1 million a day to registered voters in swing states who sign an America PAC petition supporting the First and Second Amendments – a move the Justice Department reportedly said violated election laws could represent. His efforts could prove momentous: As my colleague Franklin Foer wrote last weekend, “If Trump wins, it will likely be narrowly attributable to voter turnout.” Musk can count himself as the only variable for success.”

Musk is far from the only major donor in this race. Bill Gates reportedly donated $50 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, and various billionaires are publicly supporting Harris or Trump. But what sets Musk apart beyond his on-the-ground efforts is his ownership of X. He can spread information (and disinformation) with ease and suppress views he doesn’t like, Sophia Rosenfeld, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania, told me in an email. Media owners have always had influence in American politics (Rupert Murdoch, for example, played a prominent role in past elections through his leadership of Fox News). But Rosenfeld noted that Musk’s particular combination of wealth and media control is “unprecedented.”

Musk’s audience over the weekend amplified the unfounded claim that Michigan has more registered voters than eligible citizens. After Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that wasn’t true — and that Musk was spreading “dangerous disinformation” — Musk doubled down on her statement and accused her of lying to the public. This disinformation quickly had real-world implications: Benson told CBS that her team received harassing messages and threats following Musk’s post. Such rhetoric can undermine voter confidence in the electoral process. Musk’s America PAC is also urging people to provide examples of “voter fraud” via the so-called “Election Integrity Community” on a stolen race. (America PAC did not immediately respond to my request for comment.) Musk’s role in the MAGA movement is so prominent that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made a mischievous joke recent rally: “I’m going to talk about (Trump’s) vice president…. Elon Musk.”

Musk hasn’t always been sympathetic to such fervor, at least publicly. He reportedly said that Trump was a “stone-cold loser” in 2020 and supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. But as my colleague Charlie Warzel told me last month, Musk’s feelings of being slighted and attacked escalated as he faced backlash from liberals after his Twitter takeover; Soon after, he began using X as a megaphone for MAGA. And while his support for Trump seemed at odds with his long-standing image as a climate innovator, it is consistent with his shift to the right: He has reportedly quietly donated to Republican causes and candidates in recent years, including donating 10 US$ million to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year for his ill-fated primary campaign.

The rich have long played an outsized role in politics – but Musk, as so often, is venturing to new extremes. If Trump wins, Musk’s bet could pay off handsomely: In addition to a promised role in Trump’s administration, he is poised to win epic government contracts for his companies. But even if Trump doesn’t win, Musk could set a precedent for uber-wealthy donors to become more directly involved in political campaigns; That could reinforce the “oligarchic side of modern American democracy,” Rosenfeld warned. Although Musk’s hands-on, inflammatory campaign methods are chaotic – and potentially illegal – his efforts during this election could be a model for other mega-donors looking to reshape a race.

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