Elon Musk has publicly endorsed Donald Trump for the first time in the 2024 presidential race, just moments after the former president was targeted in an assassination attempt on Saturday.

Musk, the world's richest person, posted the endorsement on his platform X alongside video of Trump with blood on his face and pumping his fist in the air moments after a gunman opened fire at his rally in Pennsylvania.

"I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery," Musk posted on his social media platform X.

"The martyr lived," he wrote in a later post, citing a reported debate between conservative venture capitalist Peter Thiel and LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman.

Trump was 15 minutes into giving a speech at a rally in Butler when shots rang out and the former president was seen clutching his ear, before ducking below the podium.