Elon Musk donates to Barstool Fund in support of small business relief fund

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has donated to Dave Portnoy’s Barstool Fund, which aims to help small businesses survive amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barstool founder Portnoy Tweeted late on Friday night that Musk was officially donating to the fund on behalf of the Musk Foundation. “Glad to have @elonmusk and the Musk Foundation’s support,” Portnoy shared.

After the announcement, Portnoy shared that Musk’s donation was followed by other high-profile names, including Green Bay Packers QB and NFL MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers, who contributed $500,000.

The Barstool Fund was setup amidst the global pandemic to assist local businesses in keeping their doors open. Even though the fund was set up less than a month ago, the fundraiser has rallied over $20 million in donations, which is certainly enough to keep plenty of doors open.

Data from Yelp shows that 60% of business that have closed during the pandemic have closed because of slowing business operations.  While many local and State governments within the United States have enforced stay-home orders, dine-in service has been terminated in many regions. This has effectively eliminated many employees from small businesses, which have suffered tremendously since the pandemic began in early 2020.

Barstool’s official website suggests that over 98 businesses have been able to keep their doors open during the pandemic due to the fund.

It is not the first time Musk and Portnoy have interacted. In May 2020, after the Tesla CEO’s vocal discontent over the California government’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, Portnoy Tweeted a video expressing similar views to Musk’s. Musk stated that Portnoy should run for political office, and supported the Barstool CEO’s points.

Musk recently obtained the title of “World’s Richest Person” earlier this week on Thursday, following Tesla stock’s astronomical run over the past year. Musk, who had little interest in his new label, is giving back to the struggling communities of small-time America.

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Joey Klender: Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his time at TESLARATI, Joey has broken several big stories, including the first images of the Tesla Model S Plaid, the imminent release of the 4680 Model Y through EPA certification, and several expansions to the Lucid AMP-1 factory in Arizona, to name a few. His stories have been featured in several publications, including Yahoo! Finance, Fox News, CNET, and Seeking Alpha. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
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