October 7, 2024 at 12:13 PM Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) surged about 15% on Monday after Elon Musk made a surprise appearance at Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pa., over the weekend. It was the same location where the former president survived an assassination attempt in July. The tech billionaire Musk, who serves as the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX and also owns social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has been outspoken about his support of Trump ahead of next month's election. Trump has even said he would consider a cabinet position for Musk but that the businessman likely would not be able to serve "with all the things he's got going on." At Saturday's rally, Musk told the crowd that Trump is the only candidate who can "preserve democracy in America," adding this will be "the last election" if Trump does not win. The former president remains in a deadlocked race against current vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who just embarked on a flurry of media appearances in an attempt to solidify recent momentum in the polls. Harris appeared on an episode of "Call Her Daddy," a popular podcast catered toward Generation Z, along with a sit-down interview for "60 Minutes." Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) speaks on stage as he joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on Oct. 5, 2024. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (JIM WATSON via Getty Images) Trump maintains a roughly 60% interest in DJT. At current levels of around $19 a share, Trump Media boasts a market cap of about $3.8 billion, giving the former president a stake worth around $2.3 billion. Right after the company's public debut, Trump's stake was worth just over $4.5 billion. Trump Media went public on the Nasdaq in late March after merging with special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. But the stock has been on a bumpy ride since, with shares oscillating between highs and lows as the moves have typically been tied to a volatile news cycle.