The tech billionaire set spending record as he poured $446m into campaigns for failed Republican candidates

Elon Musk set a record for election spending this year after pouring nearly half a billion dollars into backing Republicans in the US midterm elections. It turned out to be a poor investment.

The SpaceX and Tesla CEO contributed at least $446m to Republican-aligned Super Pacs and groups over the course of the elections, specifically targeting several key Senate races in an effort to help the Trump administration retain Republican control of Congress. He outdid his own 2024 spending of nearly $290m. Yet as Democrats swept to power across the country on Tuesday night, it became clear that Musk would get nearly nothing in return for his hundreds of millions in spending.

Democrats won every one of the five Senate races where Musk’s America Pac spent the most money backing Republican candidates. In Texas, where Musk’s empire is based and where he directed most of his political efforts, Republicans lost the Senate race, governor’s office and are expected to relinquish control of the state house.

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[–] 34 points 5 days ago* (3 children)

Hmmm... half a billion, out of roughly a trillion, compared to my account, mathing mathing mathing...

That's like me spending a buck... on payday... the payday that doesn't go into rent...

Maybe he can spring for the Super Sized corruption combo next time.

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  • [–] 26 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    Seriously, $500 million to a trillionaire is roughly the same as $100 to someone with $100k. This is not doing shit to his hoard of gold. That dragon still needs to be slain.

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  • [–] 17 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    he's never been the smartest cookie

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  • [–] 10 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    It wasn't a flop, ok? Thanks to that half billion, the day after the elections Space X and Tesla lost roughly 100 billion in the market!

    https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-spacex-shares-drop-elon-musk-election-bet-backfires-2026-11

    That is not a flop! It's something way better.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

    Unfortunately that is just pocket money for him. Somewhere in the ball park of 100 quid for an average joe doing ok in life (i.e most of us). On the otherhand if I put down 100 quid on lottery and got nothing in return I would be really bummed. So I hope he is writhing in stomach aches because of this.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 days ago (2 children)
  • [–] 12 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    The dude was a trillionaire. He doesn't give a ratfuck's fuck about half a billion dollars.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 days ago

    I hope he has a coronary about it

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago

    It might as well be pennies to him, considering how much his net worth is.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago

    I wonder if he'll find a way to not pay the vendors like he and trump always try to do.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago

    That's a lot of money that could have been spent on useful things. What a scum bag

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago

    This is not a lot of money for him, but I hope it inconvenienced him in some way to have to borrow that money or report it. I’m sure he just pays someone else to do that stuff for him because no one who makes bad decisions seems to learn their lesson anymore, but I hope it showed him in some way that it’s not worth it.

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  • If people are fed up propaganda does not work anymore.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 days ago

    This evil fucker has achieved "escape velocity" and no longer going to be worth less than a trillion. A billionaire is the same

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  • 9 comments in c/politics@lemmy.dbzer0.com view that post
    [–] 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

    But I thought he was a genius. 😥

    America doesn’t deserve him. He should return to South Africa.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago

    Yeah but didn't he spend at like... A lot of fucked party's? That agree with his stuff anyway? So like, the money is all still on that fucked circle

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago (4 children)

    And what exactly has he lost, though?

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  • [–] 4 points 4 days ago (3 children)

    A couple hundred billion in market cap.

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