Trump frenemy Elon Musk spent nearly $500M on the election - all he got out of it was MAGA losing its power

Billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pumped nearly $500 million into Republican campaigns ahead of the midterm elections - and all he got in return was watching the movement he backed fail miserably.Musk — the richest person in the world — gave at least $474 million to Republican causes, according to The New York Times, making him the biggest donor of this election cycle by a landslide. But as the results rolled in, his money did little to sway voters. They rejected Musk, they rejected Republicans. And they sent Democrats to Washington, D.C., to control Congress.“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.Democrats saw huge gains in the midterms with at least 54 seats in the Senate and 228 in the House. They can now stall most of Trump’s top agenda items, target the president and his family's alleged corruption, and go after the administration for the wrecking ball they took to government when they returned to the White House. The initiative to reshape the federal bureaucracy was partially spearheaded by Musk.Elon Musk became the biggest 2026 midterm election donor — but few of his investments paid off as many of his Republican choices lost their races (Reuters)Musk oversaw the Trump administration’s Department of Government efficiency before dramatically exiting the White House amid a public falling out between the two. Musk and Trump spewed insults at each other with Musk making claims about Trump’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has denied knowing the convicted pedophile. Musk then retreated to Texas and made-up with the president over the last year. The SpaceX founder donated over $200 million to Texas Republican Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign to keep the seat red. In the end, Paxton lost to Democrat James Talarico, who became the first Democrat to be elected to the upper chamber of Congress in the state in nearly four decades. To add salt to the wound, Democrat Gina Hinojosa also won the gubernatorial race. Musk donated over $200 million to Ken Paxton’s reelection campaign in Texas. He lost in the gubernatorial race to Democrat Gina Hinojosa (Reuters)Musk spent $400 million backing Trump and Republicans in the 2024 election. He previously indicated that he wouldn’t spend so much in elections after that, saying in May 2025, weeks after a costly loss in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, “In terms of political spending I’m going to do a lot less in the future.”He later added: “Well, if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it.” By October, he had already passed his 2024 political spending of about $291 million. But after patching up his relationship with Trump, Musk returned to spending on campaigns ahead of the midterms. While Musk’s donations hit at least $474 million, they likely were much higher than what is currently known, as federal records only run through October 14, meaning any donations he made after that date aren’t known. Musk gave the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for Republican Senate candidates, $168 million, nearly all of which went to support Paxton. Meanwhile, America PAC, the super PAC Musk founded to help boost Republican voter turnout, received $216 million. The Congressional Leadership Fund, which is the main super PAC backing House Republicans, received $30 million in an effort to try and maintain the majority. Musk also donated millions to other Republican groups and candidates at the federal level, and to state-focused efforts in Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin, according to The New York Times.The White House - which Musk frequently visited while leading the Department of Government Efficiency - will now have to deal with a Democrat-led Congress (Getty Images)However, in the end, Democrats were able to flip seats in all three states, winning Senate elections in Texas and Michigan and a House race in Wisconsin. Wisconsin also elected a Democratic governor on Tuesday. Forbes currently estimates Musk’s net worth to be $901.7 billion, meaning his total donations only made a small dent in his overall wealth.The Internet didn’t seem to want to let him forget his poor investment either. “Insanely, horribly bad night for Elon Musk, who not only wasted half a billion but will have a Congress who hates him and an entire Texas state government who loathes him,” one X user wrote. Another X user noted, “Probably the worst possible outcome for Elon Musk.” “Imagine if Elon's $500 million had been spent on education or healthcare. Or the arts. Anything,” one person commented. “That burning smell is the nearly half-a-billion dollars Elon Musk just lit on fire,” another X user chimed in.