WASHINGTON — Next week’s presidential election isn’t just a referendum on Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It’s also a measure of the influence the world’s richest man wields over American democracy.

Elon Musk, the South African-born tech and business titan, has spent at least $119 million to mobilize Trump supporters to support the Republican nominee. His social media platform, X, has become a firestorm of pro-Trump propaganda. And it plays a leading role in Trump-style rallies in critical battleground states.

All this time, he is more and more attentive. He skipped a hearing Thursday in a lawsuit over his effort to distribute millions of dollars to registered voters, gifts of legal experts akin to vote-buying. He is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Musk regularly communicates with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a potential national security risk because SpaceX, his aerospace company, holds billions of dollars in contracts with NASA and the Defense Department.

Musk is not the only person whose mega wealth places him at the nexus of politics, business and foreign policy. But few are working as publicly for a single candidate as Musk, whose extensive business connections and growing bravado are a disturbing test of an unelected person’s political power. His stature is perhaps one of the most tangible consequences of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which removed many limits on political giving.

“This is definitely a Citizens United election,” said Daniel I. Weiner, director of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice, who added that the phenomenon was bigger than just Musk. “It’s really about transforming our campaign finance system into one where the wealthiest donors play a central role.”

Musk did not respond to a request for comment made through his lawyer. Tesla, his electric car company, and X did not respond to questions. SpaceX disputed parts of The Journal’s reporting in a statement and said it continues to work in “close partnership with the U.S. government.”

Musk’s recent conversion to “Dark MAGA”

Musk’s conversion to a self-described “Dark MAGA” Trump warrior is a recent one. In the past, he has donated modest amounts to both Republicans and Democrats, including $5,000 to Hillary Clinton in 2016, records show. He has not contributed to Trump’s political efforts so far this year, according to federal campaign finance records.

He was all in once he did.

Musk now heads America PAC, a super political action committee leading Trump’s get-out-the-vote effort.

As a newcomer to politics, there were growing pains.

Over the summer, America PAC struggled to reach its voter contact goals. Musk brought in a new team of political consultants, Generra Peck and Phil Cox, who worked on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ losing Republican presidential bid.

On paper, the numbers have improved. But Republican officials, operatives and activists say that in some critical places it has been difficult to tell how active the PAC’s ground effort has been.

The PAC’s presence isn’t noticeable in rural Georgia, according to three Republican strategists who closely monitor the ground game in the battleground state. For example, America PAC showed little evidence of leaving literature behind at doors, as is common when a voter is not at home, especially in remote locations, the three people said.

There are also indicators that Musk, a technological innovator, has been taken advantage of by his own game. In Nevada, three other people familiar with America PAC’s efforts said hired canvassers paid tech-savvy operatives to digitally manipulate an app used to track their progress — appearing to falsify their data so they could be paid for the work they didn’t do. Hawkers are usually paid by the number of doors they knock on.

There are signs that the practice was not limited to Nevada. One person warned America PAC leadership weeks ago that data collected from several states showed signs of being falsified, but their concerns were ignored, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The individuals, like others who provided details about Musk’s political operation, insisted on anonymity to discuss the matter for fear of retaliation.

Musk became frustrated with his PAC

Musk grew frustrated with the inner workings of his political organization and brought in private-sector associates, including Steve Davis, chairman of Boring, Musk’s tunneling company, according to three people familiar with the move. Davis’ role with America PAC was previously reported by The New York Times.

A person close to the PAC disputed that the group had been taken advantage of, suggesting it was a conspiracy theory based on a poor understanding of how political canvassing works. The person insisted on anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss publicly the inner workings of PAC.

Musk’s leadership of the PAC was not his only political stumble.

On Monday, Philadelphia’s district attorney filed a lawsuit to stop Musk’s $1 million cash sweepstakes, which is part of America PAC’s effort to drum up support for Trump. Musk pledged to give $1 million a day until the election to voters in battleground states who signed a petition supporting the Constitution. Legal experts warned the contest was likely illegal, venturing into vote-buying territory because participants had to be registered to vote to win the money.

Democratic U.S. Attorney Larry Krasner’s lawsuit alleges the gifts amount to an illegal lottery. A state judge stayed the case Thursday while a federal court considers taking action. The Justice Department sent a warning letter to America PAC that the gifts could violate election law.

Musk has more riding on the election than just bragging rights.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the main agency that regulates Tesla, has repeatedly proven to be a thorn in the side of the Musk-led electric carmaker, which is the main source of its wealth. The agency is overseeing more than a dozen recalls, some of which Tesla has resisted. It also opened investigations that have cast doubt on Musk’s claims that Tesla is close to deploying self-driving vehicles, a key shareholder expectation and a major driver of Tesla’s high share price.

Earlier this year, Tesla disclosed that the Department of Justice and the SEC had requested and subpoenaed information about “fully autonomous driving” capability, vehicle functionality, data privacy and other issues.

Social media platform X is another Musk company that has caught the attention of the Biden administration. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Musk’s handling of sensitive consumer data since he took control of the company in 2022, but has not brought enforcement action. The SEC has an ongoing investigation into Musk’s purchase of the social media company.

Musk has been adamant about his political views on the platform, changing its rules, content moderation systems and algorithms to conform to his worldview. After Musk endorsed Trump following an attempt on the former president’s life last summer, the platform turned into a megaphone for the Trump campaign, providing an unprecedented level of free publicity whose value is almost impossible to calculate.

Many of its woes, which Musk blames President Joe Biden and Democrats for, could disappear if Trump is elected. The former president thought Musk could have an official role in a future Trump administration that focuses on government efficiency — a huge conflict of interest given Musk’s companies’ extensive relationships with the government.

Musk has even offered to help develop national safety standards for self-driving vehicles, alarming auto safety groups, who also worry it could interfere with Tesla investigations.

“Of course the fox wants to build the shelter,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit group Center for Auto Safety Watchdog.

Why Musk’s Contact With Putin Is Worrying

This is also what makes the revelation that Musk has been in regular contact with Putin so troubling to foreign policy experts. The Department of Defense and NASA depend heavily on SpaceX to launch spy satellites and carry astronauts into space. But The Wall Street Journal reported that during a discussion, Putin asked Musk not to activate his Starlink satellite system, a subsidiary of SpaceX, in Taiwan as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Russia has denied that the conversation took place.

In a statement posted on X, the aerospace company said the Journal’s story included “long-debunked claims” and questioned the relevance of the paper’s reporting on Taiwan.

“Starlink is not available there because Taiwan has not granted us an operating license,” the statement said. “It has nothing to do with Russia or China.”

National security experts say the revelation that Musk communicated with Putin is still troubling.

Putin is “a war criminal who slaughters civilians. In my view, this is wrong,” former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told The Associated Press last week. “You have to decide which team you’re on. team or are you part of the Russian team?”