Elon Musk gives $276 million to Republican groups, becomes biggest known 2026 midterm donor

Business News and FinanceVIEW IN APPMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPoliticsSelectMake ItPolitics & PolicyElon Musk gives $276 million to Republican groups, becomes biggest known 2026 midterm donorPublished Mon, Oct 12 2026 5:17 PM EDTLuke Fountain@Luke_Fountain25WATCH LIVEKEY POINTS Elon Musk has poured more than $276 million into Republican groups since July, making him the biggest known donor of the 2026 midterm election.Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and more than $76 million to America PAC, in newly disclosed spending, bringing his known federal political giving this cycle to roughly $366 million.His 2025-26 giving has already surpassed the roughly $290 million he spent during the 2024 election, despite saying last year he planned to spend “a lot less” on politics.In this article

Elon Musk spent more than $276 million in newly disclosed donations to Republican groups since July, making him the biggest known donor of the 2026 midterm election as the party fights to hold its majorities in Washington this November.

The largest share – $158 million – went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing Republican Senate candidates, according to figures provided by Musk's representatives to The New York Times and confirmed Monday to CNBC by Lindsey Curnutte, a spokesperson for Musk's America PAC.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also gave more than $76 million to America PAC, the group he founded during the 2024 election, which has built a large voter-turnout operation in competitive Senate and House races.

The new contributions bring Musk's known federal political giving for the 2025-26 cycle to roughly $366 million, already surpassing the approximately $290 million he spent during the 2024 presidential election. The scale of the latest giving is historic: Musk's $158 million contribution to Senate Leadership Fund is among the largest known political donations by an individual in U.S. history.

The new figures were disclosed days ahead of a Thursday Federal Election Commission filing deadline, when political committees are due to report their third-quarter finances.

The Senate Leadership Fund has spent heavily this cycle to defend the Republican majority, including in Texas, where GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton is running against Democrat James Talarico. Talarico leads Paxton 48.4% to 45.0% in FiftyPlusOne's polling average as of Oct. 12.

Musk separately gave $10 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC, which supports Paxton. He also contributed $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the leading super PAC supporting House Republicans, $10 million to the Republican Governors Association and $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association, the Times reported and Curnutte confirmed.

The trillionaire's footprint in Texas has expanded rapidly in recent years, with Tesla, X and The Boring Company now headquartered in the state and SpaceX growing its manufacturing and launch operations there.

The political spending is also a sharp reversal from Musk's public comments last year.

"In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk said in May 2025.

At the time, Musk was stepping back after a highly visible role in President Donald Trump's administration and a public falling-out with the president. The two have since repaired their relationship, appearing together at several recent events.

Musk also retains deep ties to the federal government through SpaceX, a major NASA and Pentagon contractor. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month also named him co-director of Project Meridian, a Pentagon panel studying the future of warfare.

— Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.