Elon Musk tests what nearly half a billion dollars can buy in the midterms
Musk, the world’s richest person, has a lot on the line on Tuesday. Democratic lawmakers have signaled that, if they take back control of Congress, they plan to scrutinize him on a variety of fronts.
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk has given more money during the midterm elections than any donor has ever spent in a single election cycle, apart from wealthy candidates who have funded their own runs for office.
He has contributed a stunning amount: $474 million, or nearly half a billion dollars.
That sum, which includes disclosed donations to federal and state political groups since Jan. 1, 2025, breaks down as follows:
— About $216 million to his own super political action committee, America PAC, which is spending money across the country on an extensive field operation. Last year, the group spent about $47 million on an important state judicial race in Wisconsin, which Musk’s chosen candidate lost.
— $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing Senate Republicans. Almost all of that money effectively went to support Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in Texas.
— $30 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing House Republicans.
— Another $44 million or so to other Republican groups or candidates at the federal level.
— Roughly $16 million to state-focused political efforts in Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin.
The New York Times compiled its estimate of Musk’s activity by analyzing the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission and the IRS, as well as the campaign finance systems of states where Musk has disclosed contributions to state political committees. Some donations came from Musk’s political nonprofit group, United States of America Inc.
The figure is almost certainly an undercount, though, because Musk has also made some dark-money donations during the 2026 cycle, as the Times has previously reported. And the federal records run only through Oct. 14, which means they do not account for donations he may have made in the final three weeks of the election.
Only Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has spent more during an election cycle than Musk has during the 2026 cycle (in 2020, when he ran for president).
Musk, the world’s richest person, has a lot on the line on Tuesday. Democratic lawmakers have signaled that, if they take back control of Congress, they plan to scrutinize Musk on a variety of fronts, including his stint as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, his companies’ contracts with the federal government, and his role in the Russia-Ukraine war.
If Paxton wins in Texas, of course, he will have Musk to thank. Should he lose, though, Musk’s spending will have been for naught.
Together, through Musk’s direct donations or through America PAC’s disclosed spending, he has spent about $212 million to support Paxton. That figure is another undercount, though, because it does not include most of America PAC’s spending in the state. Musk also donated another $12.3 million to Texas political groups this cycle, meaning his total bill for Texas efforts is currently about $224 million.
After spending roughly $290 million in the 2024 election, Musk took on an extraordinarily powerful job in Trump’s administration. But after a few months, he showed signs of unease.
“In terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” he said in May 2025. “I think I’ve done enough.”
That June, Musk, angry about Trump’s domestic policy bill, had a spectacular public fallout with the president. He even threatened to start a new political party. By the fall, though, he and Trump had largely reconciled.
This year, though quietly at first, Musk has again ramped up his political spending.
This article originally appeared in the New York Times.
