Elon Musk political spending backfires in US midterms following Democratic wins

Billionaire tech executive Elon Musk spent record sums supporting Republican candidates in the United States midterm elections, but the efforts failed to stop broad Democratic victories. Outlets gave varying totals for Musk's political spending, with France 24 reporting he injected over 440 million dollars, The Guardian reporting 446 million dollars, CNBC reporting 474 million dollars, and BBC News and South Korean newspaper Maeil Business Newspaper reporting nearly 500 million dollars. France 24 reported that overall campaign spending reached nearly 12 billion dollars, making the 2026 midterms the most expensive on record. [1][3][5][7][11]

The Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress and secured numerous other offices previously held by Republicans, according to Wikipedia. BBC News reported that a political action committee funded by Musk contributed 47 million dollars to the campaign of Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, but the spending failed to deliver the state for Republicans. [3][13]

Musk is the chief executive officer and largest shareholder of Tesla and SpaceX, and he became the world's first trillionaire in June 2026. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Musk spent 224 million dollars of his election funds in Texas, and shares in both Tesla and SpaceX fell following the election of Democratic candidates. [12][14][15]

The Democratic victories may bring heightened government oversight for the technology sector. BBC News reported that tech companies involved in artificial intelligence could face tougher scrutiny and potential regulation under a Democratic-controlled Congress. Senator Ed Markey responded on social media to inquiries about whether major tech executives would become targets of political investigations, according to BBC News. [3]