Musk, Who Said "I've Done Enough," Nears $500 Million in Donations for U.S. Midterms

"Dark money" and spending in the final three weeks before the election not included
Actual spending may be higher than reported

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has spent nearly $500 million targeting this year's U.S. midterm elections.

According to figures compiled by The New York Times (NYT) on November 2 local time, Musk has spent a total of $474 million (about 636 billion won) on federal and state political groups since January 1, 2025. This is the largest amount of political spending in U.S. history by an individual who did not run for office.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. AFP-Yonhap News

The largest share went to America PAC, a super PAC (political action committee) founded by Musk himself. Musk gave the group $216 million. This year, America PAC has been funding advertising and on-the-ground campaigns for Republican candidates across the country.

Musk also donated $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC that supports Senate Republicans. A significant portion of that amount was used to support Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate in Texas. He also spent $30 million on the Congressional Leadership Fund, a key super PAC that supports House Republicans.

In addition, he donated about $44 million to other federal-level groups and candidates associated with the Republican Party, and spent $16 million on state-level campaigns in Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin.

The NYT estimated the total by combining the latest data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Internal Revenue Service, along with records of Musk's contributions to state-level political committees. Some of the contributions were made through a political nonprofit run by Musk called United States of America.

However, the NYT noted that the actual amount spent may be higher than the total it calculated. Musk may also have spent political funds in the form of so-called "dark money," whose source he does not disclose. In addition, the government records used for the calculation cover only contributions through October 14 and do not include donations made during the final three weeks before the election. The only person to have spent more on an election than Musk was Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, who ran for president in 2020.

Musk spent about $290 million (about 390 billion won) in the 2024 election. He later took on an influential role in the Trump Administration, including serving as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. However, within a few months, he stepped down after clashing with President Donald Trump and others. In May last year, he said, "I plan to spend a lot less on politics going forward," adding, "I think I've done enough."

In June of the same year, he publicly clashed with President Trump over the president's tax-cut bill and even raised the possibility of founding a new political party. But the two later mended their relationship in the fall, and Musk increased his political spending again this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.