Musk Funds Texas Senate Push With $76 Million Injection

The final weeks of the 2026 midterm elections have become a high-stakes financial showdown for one of the nation's most prominent figures.

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has transferred more than $76 million to his personal political committee, America PAC, during the first two weeks of October. A report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening confirms this substantial transfer. This move is designed to support Republican candidates as the election approaches. The committee spent nearly $43 million during this period and retains almost $47 million in cash for the remaining days of the campaign. Since July, Musk has directed over $165 million to America PAC, bringing his total contributions to Republican groups this cycle to more than $445 million. This makes him the largest known individual donor for this midterm election.

The Texas Senate race has absorbed the largest share of these new funds. The committee allocated $15.2 million to that specific contest, which is double the amount spent there during the summer months. Of that sum, $12.4 million was used to attack Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million promoted Republican candidate Ken Paxton. Daily filings indicate an additional $9.1 million was spent against Talarico after the initial report. This brings total spending against him to nearly $28 million. This figure represents about 40 percent of all funds the PAC has used to support or oppose candidates this cycle. The group has also shifted its strategy toward digital platforms, spending $11.4 million on online ads in the same two-week window. This digital spending is nearly equal to the combined total of mail and texting campaigns.

Musk has actively used his social media presence to influence the Texas race. On Wednesday, he posted on X that something is deeply wrong with Talarico. He later described the candidate as a creep and claimed without evidence that Talarico would vote to take away children and transition them. Earlier in the month, he amplified a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility. Talarico responded by criticizing a system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US senator. Despite the heavy spending, the race remains closely contested. A poll by Emerson College, conducted between October 17 and 19 among 1,000 likely voters, found Talarico leading by two points. The result is within the poll's margin of error of three points.

The outcome of these elections carries significant implications for Musk beyond the Senate seat. If Democrats secure the House, lawmakers have indicated they will investigate his role in the Department of Government Efficiency. They also plan to review his companies' federal contracts and the conflicts of interest they present. California Democrat Zoe Lofgren has described the number of these conflicts as astounding. Unified Democratic control of Congress would create even greater scrutiny. On Friday, Silicon Valley Democrats added a new target to their list of concerns. Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna sent a letter to the White House demanding an investigation into SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. They vowed that the next Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Musk’s businesses.