Musk's PAC Reports $76 Million Infusion for October Midterm Push

Elon Musk transferred more than $76 million to America PAC during the first half of October, according to a pre-election report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening. The committee used the funds to bankroll Republican candidates in the final stretch of the midterm campaign. The filing marks the largest recent injection of capital into the group's war chest.

The PAC spent nearly $43 million during that two-week period. It finished the window with almost $47 million in cash on hand. The organization shifted a large portion of its budget toward digital channels, spending $11.4 million on online ads. That figure is close to what the group spent on mail and texting combined during the same timeframe.

The Texas Senate race received the bulk of the new expenditure. America PAC directed $15.2 million into the contest, double its total summer spending for that state. Of that amount, $12.4 million funded attacks on Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million supported Republican Ken Paxton. Daily filings submitted after the initial report show another $9.1 million has gone toward targeting Talarico.

This brings the PAC's total spending against the Democrat to nearly $28 million this cycle. That figure represents roughly 40 percent of all money the group has spent supporting or opposing candidates. Analysis of FEC data indicates Musk has given more than $445 million to Republican political groups this election cycle. More than $165 million of that total went to America PAC since July, making him the largest known individual donor in the midterms.

Musk, whose Tesla and SpaceX companies operate in Texas, has also participated in the race online. On Wednesday, he wrote on X that something was deeply wrong with Talarico, calling the candidate a creep and claiming without evidence that Talarico would vote to take away children to transition them. Earlier in October, Musk amplified a false claim that Talarico had been treated at a mental health facility.

Talarico responded to the online attacks the same day, stating that something was deeply wrong with a political system allowing one trillionaire to buy his own personal United States Senator. An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted from October 17 to 19, places Talarico at 48 percent and Paxton at 46 percent. The race remains within the poll's three-point margin of error.

The outcome of the midterms carries implications beyond the Texas Senate. Democratic lawmakers have signaled they will investigate Musk's role in the Department of Government Efficiency and federal contracts held by his companies if they control the House. Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna wrote to the White House stating that the next Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Musk's businesses, including restrictions on SpaceX's Starshield service in Ukraine.