Elon Musk puts $5 million behind Vivek Ramaswamy's run for governor after their abrupt DOGE split

• Elon Musk backed Vivek Ramaswamy's Ohio gubernatorial run with a $5 million donation.
• Musk and Ramaswamy co-led DOGE before the latter abruptly stepped away.
• Reports cited clashes between the two, but Musk previously endorsed his gubernatorial run.

Elon Musk is backing his former DOGE partner Vivek Ramaswamy's run for governor in Ohio.

The SpaceX billionaire donated $5 million in May to a super PAC supporting Ramaswamy, according to a campaign finance filing published Wednesday.

Musk and Ramaswamy, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 before withdrawing and backing Donald Trump, were tapped to co-lead the White House's Department of Government Efficiency.

Months later, the day of Trump's inauguration, Ramaswamy announced he was leaving DOGE, with media reports citing clashes between him and Musk. Ramaswamy told Fox News around that time that it was "incorrect" to say he and Musk didn't get along, but that they had "different and complementary approaches."

Shortly after, Ramaswamy announced he was running for governor of Ohio, with both Musk and Trump endorsing him in social media posts.

Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who founded a pharmaceutical company, won the Republican nomination for Ohio's gubernatorial race in May. He's up against Democratic candidate Amy Acton, a former state health official, in what's considered a close race.

After stepping away from DOGE in May 2025, Musk said he would pull back on political spending, though that proved short-lived. He's since donated millions to support Republicans, including the contribution to V-PAC, the super PAC supporting Ramaswamy.