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Elon Musk put $445.6 million into Republican causes through October 14th by federal filings, and other tallies reach $474 million, with about $224 million of it in Texas by CNBC's count. Either number is the largest for a single donor in a cycle.
His America PAC spent nearly $87 million across 44 federal races, and its Republicans lost 29 and won three, with 12 uncalled. Paxton and Ramaswamy both lost.
Musk's response came just after 1am Eastern: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time," then "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now."
His exposure in Texas is direct, since Tesla's largest US plant, SpaceX's Starbase and his chip plans all depend on state power, water and permit decisions.
Musk spent at least $446 million on the midterms and most of his candidates lost
Elon Musk put $445.6 million into Republican causes through October 14th by federal filings, and other tallies reach $474 million, with about $224 million of it in Texas by CNBC's count. Either number is the largest for a single donor in a cycle. His America PAC spent nearly $87 million across 44 federal races, and its Republicans lost 29 and won three, with 12 uncalled. Paxton and Ramaswamy both lost.
Musk's response came just after 1am Eastern: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time," then "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now." His exposure in Texas is direct, since Tesla's largest US plant, SpaceX's Starbase and his chip plans all depend on state power, water and permit decisions. SourcesBBC
Sources
- BMusk's record election bet backfired (CNBC)cnbc.com
- BElon Musk dealt major blow in midterm elections (Politico Europe, read via Techmeme summary)politico.eu
- CMusk mocks his midterm rout as Texas threatens the AI buildout (Implicator)implicator.ai
This story ran in the Morning Brief of November 4th 2026.