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Elon Musk’s X account went unusually quiet as United States election results rolled in, revealing the steep costs of his massive financial investment in Republican campaigns this year. Following the vote counts, WIRED reported that candidates backed by Musk and his America PAC suffered 20 losses and secured only one victory, with 21 races still uncalled.
Massive Financial Outlays and Mounting Losses
Since Trump’s return to political prominence, Musk and his political action committees have spent upwards of $400 million supporting Republican candidates. This total includes nearly $87 million dedicated to ads for 42 midterm races, alongside more than $229 million funneled into various other political groups. The majority of these funds went to main Republican super PACs for the House and Senate, as well as smaller organizations created for individual races in states like Kentucky and Texas. According to election data, more than 99 cents of every traceable dollar Musk contributed to a decided race went to a losing effort.
America PAC invested in seven Senate races during this cycle. With six of them now called, Musk’s side lost every single one. Sherrod Brown reclaimed Ohio, Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan after the PAC spent $9.2 million on ads, and Josh Turek flipped Iowa. Additionally, in Maine, Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins to end her 30-year Senate career, an outcome Democrats previously considered impossible. Only the Alaska race remained uncalled at the time of publication.
Costly Defeats in Texas
Texas hosted the most expensive Senate race in American history, and Musk was its biggest financial backer. By mid-October, the Texas PAC—funded entirely by money routed through the Senate Leadership Fund—spent $148 million on the contest. This included nearly $79 million attacking Democrat James Talarico and roughly $70 million supporting Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general. America PAC contributed another $47 million directly from Musk.
Following comments from Musk on X criticizing Talarico, Talarico responded by highlighting the dangers of a political system that allows a trillionaire to finance a personal US senator. The Associated Press called the race for Talarico, defeating Paxton and ending Republican leadership in Austin that had previously granted tax breaks and incentives to Musk’s enterprises.
Democrats are set to control much of the Texas empire tied to Musk, including over $1.6 billion in tax incentives managed by the office of outgoing governor Greg Abbott, who lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Nathan Johnson will also step in as the state’s first Democratic attorney general in decades. Musk’s extensive Texas footprint features a SpaceX chip plant valued at over $16.8 billion, a Tesla robotaxi fleet, and the SpaceX Starbase launch site.
Musk’s involvement in Texas politics began months earlier through Lone Star Liberty PAC, which received $10 million from his personal trust. The group spent $6.7 million supporting Paxton’s nomination, alongside millions opposing senior senator John Cornyn and Houston congressman Wesley Hunt. By June, Musk backed Paxton, an official who had spent nearly a decade under indictment for securities fraud and survived an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate.
Setbacks in Michigan and Kentucky
In Michigan, America PAC committed $5.5 million to oppose El-Sayed and $3.7 million to support former congressman Mike Rogers. The Associated Press called the race for El-Sayed, who told supporters during his victory speech that they had constructed something superior to a bank account. Voters on that same ballot approved a measure prohibiting political donations from utilities and large state contractors.
Musk also allocated $10 million in January to Fight for Kentucky, a group established to secure the Republican nomination for the seat of retiring Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The organization spent $9.6 million promoting Nate Morris, who later withdrew from the race after receiving a Trump ambassadorship offer. Andy Barr, a seven-term congressman targeted by an additional $3.8 million in attacks from the group, won the seat by 12 points.
Amid reports that Democrats were considering investigations into his businesses, Musk posted a warning on X directed at those picking fights with him. In response to an inquiry about upcoming televised trials for Big Tech executives, Senator Ed Markey posted that new forests would be needed for the printing of their upcoming subpoenas.
