Musk Bankrolls Republicans In Midterms As Biggest Donor —While Attacking Talarico

0:01Are you ever shopping online and suddenly a discount that helps you save pops up? It makes your day, sometimes even your week. Want that feeling month after month? Well, new customers who save by switching their home and auto insurance to Progressive save hundreds. Cue your happy dance. Get your quote today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and other insurers not available in all states. Trillionaire Elon Musk has already spent more than$276 million on races in the midterm elections since July. That's according to federal election filings and numbers his reps gave to the New York Times on Monday, making the Tesla CEO the biggest midterm donor thus far as he works to prop up Republicans across the country.

0:49In total, Musk has spent at least$366 million on the midterms through the end of September. That makes him the biggest donor to next month's elections, surpassing billionaire Mark Andreessen and his business partner Ben Horowitz, whom the Times ranked as the biggest midterm spenders in August. Musk's most recent political donations, according to the Times, include$76 million to the Billionaires America PAC, which supports Republican candidates nationwide, and$158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund that backs GOP candidates in the Senate. He has also given$20 million in recent months to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC that supports House Republicans, plus$10 million to the Lone Star Liberty PAC, which backs Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, another$10 million to the Republican Governors Association, and$2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association, most representatives told the Times.

1:45America PAC has dedicated most of spending towards the Senate race in Texas, the Times reported, which Musk has also been increasingly outspoken about in recent days, attacking Democratic candidate James Tallarico frequently on X and amplifying false claims about him. While much of Musk's political giving can be tracked through Federal Election Commission filings, the Times reports that the billionaire has also more quietly given seven-figure sums to groups that aren't required to publish their donors, meaning the details of those donations are likely to remain under wraps. Forbes values Musk's net worth at$1 trillion as of Monday morning, making him both the richest person in the world and the first to reach trillionaire status.

2:24Musk first became a big GOP donor ahead of the 2024 election. The foray into politics marked an about-face for the Tesla founder after he had previously donated to Democrats and criticized Trump. After Trump won the election, Musk controversially joined his administration, spearheading widespread and controversial government cuts before leaving his role in May 2025 and having a public falling out with the president. Their relationship has since been mended. The trillionaire has since briefly flirted with forming his own political party and waded into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race last year, and Musk claimed after that election loss that he planned to pull back from his lavish political spending, but soon began spending money ahead of the midterms.

3:06For more on this story, including who else Musk has donated to in the midterms, click the link in the description.

3:40and auto insurance to Progressive, save hundreds. Cue your happy dance. Get your quote today at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and other insurers not available in all states.