Elon Musk Has Dumped Nearly Half a Billion Into Electing Republicans This Year

Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the brain genius behind last year’s disastrous DOGE cuts and the spiraling crises across government that resulted, has given over $445 million this election cycle backing Republicans ahead of the midterm elections on November 3. Bloomberg reported that updated Federal Election Commission filings show Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main GOP-aligned super PAC spending on Senate races, in September. Musk also dropped $77 million into his own America PAC in the first two weeks of October alone. America PAC has spent $33.1 million backing Ken Paxton, the far-right bigot and perpetually ethically challenged Texas attorney general running against Democrat James Talarico for Senate, and the Senate fund transferred all of Musk’s donation to Texas PAC, which has spent $181 million promoting Paxton since September 11. America PAC has spent around $71 million in total, splitting it across the GOP races for Senate not just in Texas but also Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Maine, as well as over 30 competitive House races, according to Bloomberg. America PAC has funded both media blasts like mailers, texts, and phone calls and more involved tactics like canvassing. As Bloomberg noted, Musk is “well ahead of other major political donors” this cycle. That’s predictable just because of his numerous business interests and estimated net worth of over $900 billion, but also because of how tightly he’s tied himself and his image to Donald Trump and this administration, which is obsessed with preventing Democrats from taking control of the House or Senate. In a recent interview, he admitted that he found the proximity to Trump intoxicating and “got carried away basically.” Musk is betting the future of Tesla and SpaceX on a proposed $3.7 trillion merger, but the plan is predicated on an easy glide past Trump-appointed regulators who would review it. The merger could face tougher scrutiny from a Democratic-controlled Congress, and if investigations do get underway, it’s easy to see all parties involved throwing alliances to the wind and each other under the Cybertruck. A recently released documentary, Musk, is further savaging his already sad and battered public image. Democrats have indicated that Musk, and his tenure at DOGE, would be one of their top targets for investigation if they retake the House, suggesting the election’s forthcoming trial of public opinion may result in a more literal equivalent for Musk. Hubris and all that.