Elon Musk Gives More Than $76 Million to America PAC as Texas Senate Race Tightens

Elon Musk donated more than $76 million to his personal political committee, America PAC, during the first two weeks of October as the group worked to boost Republicans in the final stages of the midterm elections, according to a pre-election report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.

America PAC Spends $43 Million in Two Weeks

America PAC spent about $43 million during the first two weeks of October and entered the final stretch of the campaign with approximately $47 million in cash.

Texas Senate races accounted for much of the PAC’s new spending. The group spent $15.2 million in the state—roughly twice the amount it spent there throughout the summer. That spending included $12.4 million in advertisements attacking Democratic candidate James Talarico and $2.8 million promoting Republican candidate Ken Paxton.

Since then, daily filings show that an additional $9.1 million has been spent against Talarico. That brings America PAC’s spending against him during the current campaign to nearly $28 million, or about 40% of the total it has spent supporting or opposing candidates.

The PAC also shifted toward online advertising, spending $11.4 million on digital ads during the same two-week period. That amount was nearly equal to its combined spending on emails and text messages.

Musk Becomes the Election’s Largest Known Individual Donor

Musk has donated more than $445 million to Republican political organizations during this election cycle, making him the largest known individual donor in the midterm elections, according to a WIRED analysis of FEC filings. More than $165 million of that amount has gone to America PACs since July alone.

America PAC declined to comment.

Musk Attacks Talarico on X

Musk, who is based in Texas and runs companies including Tesla and SpaceX, has also posted about the race online.

On Wednesday, Musk posted on X: “There’s something seriously wrong with Talarico.” He called Talarico “creepy” and claimed, without evidence, that “people would vote to take away children and transition them into society.”

Earlier this month, Musk amplified false claims that Talarico was receiving treatment at a mental health facility.

Talarico responded on X. That same day, he wrote: “There is something deeply flawed in the political system that allows trillionaires to buy privately held U.S. senators.”

Talarico Holds a Narrow Lead in Texas Poll

The Texas race remains very close. An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted from October 17 to 19, found Talarico with 48% support and Paxton with 46%. The poll had a margin of error of less than 3 percentage points.

Musk’s Political Spending Extends Beyond Texas

Musk’s political investment extends far beyond Texas. If Democrats win control of the House, lawmakers expected to lead the relevant committee have said they intend to investigate his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, his companies’ federal contracts and comments made by California Democrat Zoe Lofgren.

Democrats have also described the figures as “amazing” numbers and raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. A Democratic-controlled Congress would pose an even greater challenge for Musk.

Silicon Valley Democrats added another potential target on Friday: SpaceX restrictions. In a report involving the Ukrainian Starshield satellite service and a letter to the White House, Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta and Ro Khanna called for an investigation. They also vowed that, in the next Congress, they would subject federal funding for Musk’s businesses to “intense scrutiny.”