Mark Cuban says the election is now a battle between Kamala Harris and Elon Musk, not Donald Trump
Mark Cuban at a campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The billionaire businessman Mark Cuban on Monday said the presidential campaign had become a battle between Vice President Kamala Harris and Tesla CEO Elon Musk rather than Donald Trump.
Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Cuban said Harris was fighting against Musk, a campaign surrogate for Trump, as much as she was against her political rival, saying the outcome of this year’s election would hinge on voter turnout — an issue Musk has made a priority in recent weeks.
“Really it comes down to ‘get out the vote,'” said Cuban, who has campaigned on behalf of Harris. “And the crazy thing is, it’s the Harris campaign versus Elon — not even versus Trump.”
Musk, who first endorsed Trump in July before launching his super PAC in support of the former president, has prioritized increasing voter turnout ahead of the election.
This month, Musk’s America PAC offered $100 to registered Pennsylvania voters who signed a petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms and $47 to swing-state voter referrals who also signed up. On Saturday, he also pledged to give away $1 million checks to randomly selected petition signers each day until the election on November 5.
In a statement to B-17, Cuban said Musk was “running Trump’s ground game.”
“That is what will drive GOTV, which I think will determine the race.” Cuban added, referring to get-out-the-vote efforts.
Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign senior advisor, told B-17: “When you have dozens of industry leaders like Elon Musk and David Sacks among the long list of supporters, it is a recognition that President Trump is the clear choice.”
The Harris campaign and representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from B-17.
In his appearance on CNBC, Cuban described Musk’s payments for registering voters as “innovative” and “desperate.” The two billionaire businessmen have repeatedly traded public jabs over their support of opposing candidates in this year’s election.
“You only do that because you think you have to, but you know, using the sweepstakes is not a bad idea,” Cuban said. “Whether or not it’ll work is a whole ‘nother thing. It just as easily could backfire, but you don’t know until you try.”
Some experts in election law and political science say the $1 million giveaway may not be legal, as election laws make it illegal to pay people to register to vote.
Other election-law experts, however, have argued that Musk’s payments to registered voters may fall into a legal gray area because the eligibility requirement hinges on signing the petition, not specifically registering to vote.
Matthew Alvarez, a partner at the Rutan & Tucker law firm specializing in election law, told B-17 that while the payments might not be entirely legal, Musk would be unlikely to face criminal penalties for his actions.
Musk hasn’t publicly responded to suggestions the payments may not work or could be illegal, instead posting on his social-media platform, X: “The foaming-at-the-mouth reaction from radical leftists is worth it.”
