Elon Musk has committed roughly $366 million to the 2026 US midterm elections, directing much of his political spending towards Republican candidates as his companies face major decisions over federal contracts, regulation and government oversight.
At least $276 million has gone to Republican groups and Musk’s political operation, America PAC, since July, according to a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. The spending makes Musk the largest individual donor of the midterm election cycle so far, with money committed across at least 40 races.
The election carries significant implications for Musk’s business interests, particularly SpaceX, which has received billions of dollars in federal contracts. Republican victories could help preserve his influence in Washington, while Democratic control of either chamber of Congress could lead to subpoenas and investigations into his businesses, government contracts and his role in President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Democrats are favoured to win control of the House of Representatives, while the Senate contest remains uncertain.
“With all that spending, [Musk] wants favours in Congress and from the administration and influence on regulatory contracts as well as being shielded from oversight,” said Bruce Freed, president and co-founder of the non-partisan Center for Political Accountability and a former chief investigator for the Senate banking committee.
Musk did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. In a Wednesday post on X, the social media platform he owns, he criticised the prospect of Democrat-led investigations, writing: “Live by the sword, die by the sword.”
He added: “Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets.”
Texas illustrates the overlap between Musk’s political spending and his corporate interests. Tesla is headquartered in Austin, where it operates its largest US vehicle factory, while SpaceX runs a launch facility at Starbase in South Texas. His tunnelling company, The Boring Co., is based in Pflugerville.
At least $189.6 million of Musk’s political money is directed through various channels towards helping Republican Ken Paxton win election to the Senate. Paxton’s Democratic opponent, James Talarico, accused Musk of trying to “buy this Senate seat in Texas”.
“There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator,” Talarico said in response to Musk’s criticism of him.
Musk and his trust have also donated at least $6 million this election cycle to Texas state candidates and political groups, including Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows, according to Transparency USA. Tesla and SpaceX are planning an artificial intelligence chip factory with Intel in Grimes County, outside Austin, where Musk lawyer Chris Gober is running for Congress.
SpaceX’s federal business has expanded sharply. According to government-spending research firm FedScout, the company has received more than $30.7 billion in federal work since 2008, excluding classified contracts and some state-funded spending. Its federal contracts reached $6.78 billion by 1 October 2026, compared with $3.97 billion in 2025 and $3.8 billion for all of 2024.
In late May, the Space Force awarded SpaceX $2.29 billion for a military communications network associated with the Golden Dome missile shield, followed three days later by a further $4.16 billion for threat-detection satellites.
Congress does not award these contracts directly but funds and oversees agencies including the Defence Department and NASA. SpaceX also depends on the Federal Aviation Administration for launch licences and the Federal Communications Commission for satellite licences and spectrum used by Starlink.
Musk’s political operation has also spent about $22.7 million on general-election expenditure across six other battleground states through 20 October, including $8.9 million in Ohio, $7.2 million in Michigan and $2 million in Maine, according to CNBC’s analysis of federal filings.
SpaceX spent about $5.3 million lobbying Washington since January 2025 on issues including defence spending, NASA funding and military launches, while Tesla spent about $3.6 million, according to disclosure reports.
“Elon’s spending is virtually unprecedented in recent elections for its scale in such a short period for one individual donor,” Freed told CNBC. “He seems to be spending with basically no budget, and he got the money to do so.”
