MUSK-BACKED CANDIDATES LOSE MOST 2026 US MIDTERM RACES

Elon Musk spent close to $500 million backing Republican candidates in the 2026 US midterm elections, Federal Election Commission filings reported by Forbes show, making him the cycle's largest individual donor. That was more than three times the combined spending of the next-largest donors, Dick and Liz Uihlein. His America PAC spent over $400 million since President Trump returned to office, including $87 million on adverts in 42 races. As results came in, Musk posted on X: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time," alongside a shrug emoji.

Of seven Senate races in which America PAC ran adverts, six were decided and Musk's side lost all of them. Sherrod Brown won Ohio, Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan, and Josh Turek flipped Iowa. In Maine, Troy Jackson unseated Susan Collins, ending her 30-year Senate career. In Texas, a Musk-funded group spent $148 million on what was described as the costliest Senate race in American history, backing Republican Ken Paxton against Democrat James Talarico, who won the seat. The Texas governorship also changed hands to the Democrats, while the Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi remained uncalled.

Tallies of the results varied depending on which races were counted. An analysis of the 42 races targeted by America PAC's adverts found Musk's side had won one, lost 20, and left 21 undecided. A broader count of all 106 races in which Musk backed a candidate found 18 wins, 45 losses and 43 still unresolved. Shares in Tesla and the valuation of SpaceX both fell after the results. Musk had earlier said a Democratic win would mean "the end of democracy in any meaningful sense of the word."