Someone send a submarine to rescue Elon Musk's reputation.

It turns out the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has donated seven times as much to money to Republicans than Democrats since the beginning of 2017, according to Federal Election Commission data reviewed by HuffPost.

Overall, Musk gave $88,900 to Republicans and $13,300 to Democrats, including more than $50,000 to a fundraising committee run by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican who doesn't exactly hold the most enlightened views on climate change.

That's pretty strange company for Musk to keep, considering how deeply he purports to care about our climate.

What's Musk's reason for donating so much money to the GOP? Days ago, the CEO attempted to defend himself against reports he gave nearly $40,000 to Protect the House, a political action committee that's trying to maintain Republican control of the House, by explaining that the recipients of his donations would be "willing to listen" to him.

So that they are willing to listen when I call to object about issues that negatively affect humanity — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2018

Yes, without those donations, Republican lawmakers would see Elon Musk's name come up on their phones, roll their eyes, and ignore the call of a man worth around $20 billion.

But now Musk has access. He can call up Republicans and say, "Hey, maybe don't separate small children from their families?" Apparently, that's a better way to spend your money than, you know, helping the campaigns of Democrats who might replace them.

If the Democrats lose the midterm elections, it would be an absolute disaster for pretty much everyone except men like Elon Musk. The GOP has shown no desire to actually stop Trump's train of incompetence and corruption, because, well, tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. And if it keeps going at its current pace, no amount of humanitarian spending can undo the damage the party can unleash with another four years in power.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Elon Musk, in the grand tradition of wealthy men who love their money but don't want to feel bad about it, classifies himself as an "independent."

That said, I do not actually see the checks (changed that policy today). A nominal annual amount goes out automatically to both parties to maintain dialogue. I have given vastly more to humanitarian causes. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2018

Figures.