Elon Musk Dumped Nearly Half a Billion Into Electing Republicans This Year—Where the Money Went

Major donations and Texas spending

Updated Federal Election Commission filings show Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund in September, according to Bloomberg. The group is the main GOP-aligned super PAC spending on Senate races.

Musk also put $77 million into his America PAC during the first two weeks of October. The Senate Leadership Fund transferred all of Musk’s contribution to Texas PAC, which has spent $181 million promoting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton since September 11.

America PAC has spent $33.1 million backing Paxton, who is running against Democrat James Talarico for the Senate. The article describes Paxton as far-right and ethically challenged.

Spending across multiple races

Bloomberg reported that America PAC has spent about $71 million overall. Its spending has covered Senate races in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and Maine, as well as more than 30 competitive House contests.

The group has used mailers, texts and phone calls, along with canvassing. Bloomberg said Musk’s political giving is well ahead of other major donors this election cycle.

Business ties and political scrutiny

Musk’s political prominence is linked in the article to his business interests, an estimated net worth above $900 billion, and his close ties to Donald Trump and the administration. Musk recently said he found his proximity to Trump intoxicating and had “got carried away basically.” Musk is backing a proposed $3.7 trillion Tesla-SpaceX merger that would be reviewed by Trump-appointed regulators. The article says a Democratic-controlled Congress could examine the deal more closely.

A recently released documentary titled Musk is further damaging his public image, the article says. Democrats have indicated that Musk and his DOGE tenure would be major investigation targets if they regain control of the House.