Elon Musk spent nearly $500 million on the midterms. It bought him almost nothing

Elon Musk poured approximately $474 million into the 2026 midterm elections, a figure gleaned from the New York Times' October 14 count. This investment dwarfs the $250 million Musk spent to secure Donald Trump's victory in 2024. However, Musk's efforts have borne little fruit this time around. Democrats now control both the House and Senate, a result that stings Musk, who had hoped to tip the balance in his favor.

Of the 106 candidates Musk supported, 44 lost, including key races such as Ken Paxton's bid for the Texas Senate, Greg Abbott's re-election bid as governor, and Vivek Ramaswamy's run for Ohio governor. The remaining 18 Musk-backed candidates won, but all in races Republicans were expected to win anyway. Another 44 races remained unresolved as of Wednesday.

Musk's financial support was channeled through three entities: his super PAC, America PAC ($216 million), the Senate Leadership Fund ($168 million), and the Congressional Leadership Fund ($30 million). The majority of his spending—$212 million—backed Ken Paxton's bid for the Texas Senate, which ultimately fell to Democratic candidate James Talarico. Talarico's victory speech seemed to directly address Musk, accusing him of sending a message to "every billionaire megadonor, every trillionaire megadonor."

Beyond Texas, America PAC's spending reached six battleground states, amounting to $22.7 million. The company's influence extends to Musk's businesses, which heavily depend on federal contracts. SpaceX alone secured $6.78 billion in federal funds through October 1, up from $3.8 billion in 2024. These contracts, awarded by congressional committees, could see significant changes with a new Democratic Congress.

Republicans are banking on Democrats needing Texas to gain control of Congress, as Democrats would then chair committees overseeing SpaceX's major customers. If Democrats win, they could investigate Musk and DOGE, potentially leading to probes into his DOGE project, SpaceX's federal contracts, and allegations of restricting Starshield satellite service to Ukraine's military.

Musk's businesses, including Tesla, SpaceX, and his data center ventures in Texas, could face significant challenges under a Democratic-controlled Congress.