Musk’s 2026 midterm political spending hits record $474 million, NYT finds
A New York Times analysis of FEC and IRS filings shows Musk outspending every political donor in a single cycle except self-funded candidates.
What to know
- NYT's $474 million figure covers only disclosed donations through 14 October and excludes dark money, so the real total is likely higher.
- About $224 million of Musk's spending effectively backed Ken Paxton's Texas Senate bid, via America PAC and the Senate Leadership Fund.
- Trump says he will act to shield Musk if Democrats, who have signaled plans to investigate his DOGE tenure and federal contracts, win back Congress.
- The spending comes after Musk said in May 2025 he would cut back politically and after a public mid-2025 rift with Trump that has since been smoothed over.
Elon Musk Tesla/SpaceX/X CEO and top political donor
Donald Trump US PresidentTheodore Schleifer New York Times reporter
Ken Paxton Republican Senate nominee, Texas
Greg Brockman OpenAI co-founder
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Social media amplifies the $474M record-spending figure
Coverage of the Times finding spread on social platforms ahead of Tuesday's vote, with posts framing it as the largest single-cycle donation ever by a non-self-funding donor.
“That's much money Elon Musk has contributed to this year's midterm campaigns. It's the most anyone has ever donated in a single election cycle…”
— @MorningBrew -
$474 million That's much money Elon Musk has contributed to this year's midterm campaigns It's the most anyone has ever donated in a single election cycle
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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Musk’s midterm donations hit a record $474M, The New York Times reports https:// thenextweb.com/news/musk-midte rm-donations-474m-record-new-york-times?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Tesla And SpaceX @ tesla-and-spacex-kevinbeachus9
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Trump says he would protect Musk from post-election probes — Asked on the Pod Force One podcast by host Miranda Devine about rumors Musk could be investigated or have assets seized, Trump said he would move to protect Musk if Democrats pursue an investigation after the midterms.
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NYT analysis puts Musk's midterm giving at a record $474M
Times reporter Theodore Schleifer compiled Musk's disclosed donations to federal and state political groups since January 2025, finding $216 million to Musk's own America PAC and $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, mostly supporting Paxton in Texas; the newspaper says the true figure is higher once dark money and the final three weeks of filings are counted.
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1 outlet first by The Next Web, 6d ago · read ↗
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Politico reports Democrats plan to scrutinize Musk if elected — Democratic lawmakers signaled they intend to investigate Musk's DOGE tenure, his companies' federal contracts, and his role in the Russia-Ukraine war if they retake Congress.
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Trump and Musk reconcile; Trump awards Musk a medal — By autumn the two had largely made up, and in October Trump gave Musk the National Medal of Science.
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Musk and Trump clash publicly over domestic policy bill — A month after saying he would cut back, Musk fell out publicly with Trump over the president's domestic policy legislation.
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Musk says he will scale back political spending — After spending about $290 million on the 2024 election and running DOGE, Musk said he planned to reduce future political donations.