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NYT: Elon Musk has spent nearly $450M trying to influence the midterms

techNov 2, 202624339

The New York Times analysis says Elon Musk has spent roughly $445.6 million to influence the 2024 midterm elections, funneling money into Republican aligned political action committees and groups since last year. That total makes Musk the single largest one cycle political donor in modern US history, according to the same reporting, and places him among the top five Republican megadonors who together account for about $960 million. Other top donors named alongside Musk include Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein at about $150 million, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz at about $116.4 million, and Jeff Yass at about $110.4 million. The wider list of the top 20 donors has poured roughly $2 billion into federal races this cycle. Commentators have framed the spending as an effort to prop up Republican chances in the House, the Senate, and the presidency, and the scale of Musk's contributions has focused attention on wealthy individual influence over congressional and presidential contests. The immediate consequence is heightened scrutiny of megadonor influence heading into vote counts and postmidterm strategizing among both parties.

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