Musk PAC Spends $76 Million in Two Weeks

Elon Musk transferred more than $76 million to his political committee, America PAC, during the first two weeks of October. The figure appears in a pre-election report the group filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening. This single contribution represents a substantial portion of the PAC's total war chest for the final stretch of the midterm campaign.

The filing shows that the PAC spent nearly $43 million during that same two-week period. It ended the window with almost $47 million in cash remaining. The Texas Senate race absorbed the largest share of the new spending. America PAC directed $15.2 million to that contest, double the amount it spent there over the entire summer. Of that total, $12.4 million paid for attacks on Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million supported Republican Ken Paxton.

Subsequent daily filings indicate another $9.1 million has been directed against Talarico since the initial report. This brings the PAC's total spending against the Democrat this cycle to nearly $28 million. That figure accounts for roughly 40 percent of everything America PAC has spent supporting or opposing candidates. The group also shifted its strategy toward digital platforms, spending $11.4 million on online ads in the two-week window. That amount is close to what it spent on mail and texting combined.

Musk has actively participated in the race through social media. On Wednesday, he posted on X that "there is something deeply wrong with Talarico." He called the candidate "a creep" and claimed without evidence that Talarico "would vote to take away your kids and transition them." Earlier in the month, Musk amplified a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility. Talarico responded to the posts the same day, stating, "There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator."

An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted from October 17 to 19, shows the race remains a toss-up. Talarico holds 48 percent support, while Paxton holds 46 percent. The difference is within the poll's 3-point margin of error. Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, maintain operations in Texas. The stakes extend beyond the state, as Democratic leaders in Congress have signaled they will investigate Musk's role in the Department of Government Efficiency and federal contracts held by his firms.

Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna wrote to the White House demanding an investigation into restrictions on SpaceX's Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. In the letter, they stated that the next Congress "will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk's businesses." The PAC declined to comment on the new spending figures. According to Wired's analysis of FEC filings, Musk has given more than $445 million to Republican political groups this election cycle, making him the largest known individual donor in the midterms.