Elon Musk put about $474 million into the 2026 midterm elections and finished the night with Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress, a Democratic governor in Texas and a new obstacle to his data center plans.
The total, a tally of Federal Election Commission filings compiled by The New York Times and cited by Tom's Guide, covers spending through October 14. Roughly $216 million went to America PAC, the super PAC Musk founded, and $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which backs Republican Senate candidates.
Engadget reported that Musk backed Republicans in 106 House and Senate races. Eighteen of those candidates had won by Wednesday, 45 had lost and 43 contests were still uncalled. CNBC put his Texas spending at about $225 million, in a state where the Senate seat and the governor's office both went to Democrats.
Musk responded on X with a short post: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time."
The result has consequences beyond Washington. Gina Hinojosa, the governor-elect, campaigned on a promise her campaign site, Gina for Texas, describes as an immediate moratorium on new data centers until the legislature writes rules. She also wants the 20-year tax breaks that House Bill 2712 granted hyperscale facilities in 2015 repealed.
Musk has shifted much of his business to Texas, and SpaceX plans to expand computing capacity at its Starbase site in Boca Chica. Tom's Guide, citing Reuters, reported that SemiAnalysis, a chip research firm, counts more than 9 gigawatts of capacity either planned or under development for Musk's AI projects, some of it in Texas.
GlobeTV reported in October that Musk had given $366 million by that point, including $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund. The final figure is about 30% higher.
Voters also weighed in closer to home. Tom's Guide cited an election analysis by The Verge finding that 45 local ballot measures addressed data center development, and that results from 33 of them favored restrictions.