Elon Musk spent at least $474 million on the midterms — and got little for it

The world's richest person placed a nearly half-a-billion-dollar political bet, and it did not pay off on election night. Elon Musk donated at least $474 million to Republican candidates ahead of the 2026 midterms, nearly twice what he gave before the 2024 presidential election, Fortune reports. Around $200 million went to Texas alone, where Senate nominee Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott were both beaten by Democrats. Shares of SpaceX and Tesla, both headquartered in Texas, fell on Wednesday. His other donations included $30 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and $44 million to other Republican groups and candidates. Fortune notes that whether the money was wasted remains to be seen: the headline's own verdict is that "he basically gets to steer a political party" heading into 2028.