Super Bowl ad space is always enormous. This year, a 30-second commercial slot cost approximately $7 million, and that doesn’t include creative and production costs for the commercial itself! (Budweiser spends roughly 11-19 million in creative and production costs—if they don’t use a celebrity—but hey, it’s beer.) But look at what advertisers are getting: 121.1 million potential buyers across platforms such as Fox, Fox Deportes, Telemundo, and streaming services like Tubi.

Last week, Elon Musk spent $100 million for a commercial with the biggest celebrity on the planet: Donald Trump. With Tesla cars lined up on the South Lawn of the White House, Trump hawked the billionaire’s cars walking and talking, even sitting in a bright red Model S with Elon himself.

In 2023, Donald Trump posted a Christmas message that included “All Electric Car Lunacy, and so much more, are looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

After Musk’s $250 million donation to the Trump campaign, however, the president’s stance on electric vehicles took a U-turn, straight onto the White House lawn.

So, what was the audience reach of the Trump showcase? Hard to say precisely. The story likely ran multiple times over a 24-hour news cycle, not just on cable networks but also across hundreds of local stations nationwide. Safe to say, Trump’s “impromptu” Tesla commercial reached millions.

And the cost?

Well, given Musk’s well-publicized commitment to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, his actual expenses were likely minimal—just the cost of delivering the cars. So, all he was on the hook for was the celebrity fee.

How much?

Well, in what can only be described as an incredible coincidence, on the very same day that Trump’s live commercial aired, reports surfaced that Musk was planning to donate $100 million to Trump’s political organizations.

And Musk even got a bonus!

With the billionaire’s reputation taking a hit surrounding his Department of Government Efficiency and the wave of protests across the country, Tesla sales have suffered. Never one to miss an opportunity, the president added—at no extra charge—a statement of support, “I think he’s been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people,” Trump told reporters. And I just want people to know that he can’t be penalized for being a patriot.”

Translation: Loyalty has its perks.

Ethical perspective: Textbook case of presidential abuse.