Will Musk bankroll Trump? Billionaire holds meeting with ex-president as he considers whether to throw his $200b fortune behind efforts to remove Biden from White House

A secret meeting between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has sent speculation swirling that the Tesla boss could bankroll the Republican presidential hopeful's campaign.

The two met on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, along with a few wealthy Republican donors, according to the New York Times.

Trump and his team are desperately seeking a cash injection to boost his presidential campaign.

Musk is currently the second richest man in the world, with an estimated fortune of $200billion. The Tesla founder has become more political in recent weeks and has been posting on social media platform X blasting Democrat Joe Biden's woke policies and the administration's handling of the border crisis. 

Trump has privately praised the tech mogul to his allies and hopes to secure a one-on-one meeting soon, according to a source.

Elon Musk met with Donald Trump amid the presidential hopeful's bid to secure more funding for his campaign

The Tesla boss met the presidential hopeful in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, according to sources

Trump may be seeking funding amid mounting financial woes stemming from legal troubles.

He currently owes more than $454 million for judgements in New York, after a jury ordered him to pay up for defaming his rape accuser E. Jean Carroll and a separate civil fraud trial saw him fined $364 million.

The legal fees associated with the trials and other charges are said to have cost him around $50 million. 

While he has not endorsed any candidate, Musk has been highly critical of the Biden administration of late.

On Tuesday, he re-shared a DailyMail.com article that detailed how 320,000 unvetted migrants had been allowed into the US, and warned it is 'highly probable that the groundwork is being laid for something far worse than 9/11'.

Those close to Musk also confirmed he believes Biden needs to be removed from office in November, according to the NYT. 

However, his relationship with Trump has previously been somewhat tumultuous.

In 2017, he stepped down from two business advisory councils following Trump's  decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. In 2022, Trump called him an expletive, with Musk responding it was time for the ex-president to 'sail into the sunset.'

Those close to Musk also confirmed he believes Biden needs to be removed from office in November

Unlike other billionaires, Musk has not spent heavily on political donations and has previously given to both the Republicans and Democrats, including Barack Obama

Unlike other billionaires, Musk has not spent heavily on political donations but has previously given to both the Republicans and Democrats. 

Musk personally has provided funding to politicians including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Marco Rubio, George W. Bush and John Kerry.

His companies Tesla and SpaceX, have benefited from federal government contracts and subsidies.

However, in recent years, Musk has seemingly leaned more towards the GOP.

This may be in part due to a snub by the Biden administration in 2021 after they failed to invite Tesla to a summit on electric vehicles.

'Let's not forget the White House giving Tesla the cold shoulder, excluding us from the EV summit,' Musk wrote in December, more than two years after the sleight.

The following year he encouraged his followers on X, formerly Twitter, to vote in a Republican Congress ahead of the midterms.

More recently Musk appeared to criticize podcast host Bill Maher, after the comedian said he would vote for Biden over Trump in almost every circumstance.

'Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a very real disease,' Musk wrote on X.

Musk criticized Biden's immigration policy, citing a DailyMail.com article which detailed how 320,000 unvetted migrants have been allowed into the US

But his relationship with Trump has previously been rocky, with the two trading barbs in 2022

After Musk purchased the social media platform Twitter in 2022, he reinstated Trump's account after it was suspended in the wake of January 6.

Musk has generally railed against left-leaning 'woke' policies and has repeated right wing rhetoric on immigration. 

'America will fall if it tries to absorb the world,' Mr. Musk posted on X on Tuesday. 

He also suggested that Democrats are 'ushering in vast numbers of illegals' to commit voter fraud, despite no evidence to support this. 

Early in the Republican primary season, Musk gave signs he backed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis kicked off his campaign with a live streamed interview with the billionaire, however this did not materialize into a donation.