Musk spent $800,000 in two weeks on midterms — and plans to spend far more

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, appears set to pour significant money into this year's US midterm elections.

Musk has backed Republican candidates in every recent US election cycle.

America PAC, the super PAC Musk founded, filed its first midterm election spending disclosure with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night, CNN and CNBC reported.

The filing shows Musk spent a total of $800,000 during the roughly two-week period from Aug. 18 to Aug. 31, with about 90 percent directed toward US Senate races. The single largest outlay — $247,000 — went to the Texas Senate race. Texas, home to the headquarters of both Tesla and SpaceX, has traditionally leaned Republican but is shaping up as a competitive battleground this cycle.

The Texas race pits Democratic candidate James Talarico against Republican candidate Ken Paxton. The Talarico campaign has outspent Paxton's side on advertising, committing $25 million since late May.

America PAC also directed $170,000 to the Maine Senate race, where Republican Sen. Susan Collins is seeking reelection, and $106,000 to the Ohio race featuring Republican candidate Jon Husted.

Smaller amounts went to Senate contests in New Hampshire ($91,459), Iowa ($54,600), Michigan ($25,605) and Alaska ($17,235).

America PAC also spent $90,000 on House races.

Most of the spending was classified as printing costs, suggesting the funds were primarily used for direct-mail advertising.

Musk is expected to spend considerably more before November. The New York Times reported in July that Musk had approved a plan to spend up to $120 million through America PAC for the midterm elections.

Musk spent $260 million backing Donald Trump's successful 2024 presidential campaign.

That sum made him the largest individual political donor in a single US election in the country's history.

Meanwhile, some US companies that have maintained close ties with President Donald Trump are now shifting course and seeking to curry favor with the Democratic Party, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

These companies are preparing for the possibility that Democrats could take control of the House in the midterms, which would expose them to congressional investigations and subpoenas.

Big Tech firms in particular — especially those that made large donations to Trump's legacy projects or affiliated political organizations — are reportedly setting up internal task forces to prepare not only for congressional probes but also potential criminal investigations.

Some companies have had executives review and discuss contingency plans covering demands to hand over documents, appearances at congressional hearings and the issuance of subpoenas.

Democrats need only a few additional seats to reclaim a House majority.

Should Democrats take control of the chamber, potential targets of congressional scrutiny could include companies that made large donations to Trump or Trump-linked ventures, as well as firms connected to relatives of Trump's inner circle — among them Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and their associates.