Musk PAC Deploys $76 Million to Defend Texas Seat and Shield DOGE

America PAC, Elon Musk’s personal political committee, received more than $76 million in the first two weeks of October, according to a pre-election report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday evening. The infusion arrived as the group sought to boost Republican candidates in the final stretch of the midterm elections. The filing shows the PAC spent nearly $43 million during that same period and ended the window with almost $47 million in cash reserves.

The Texas Senate race absorbed the largest share of the new funds. The committee directed $15.2 million into the contest, double the amount it spent in the state over the entire summer. Of that total, $12.4 million supported attacks on Democratic candidate James Talarico, while $2.8 million promoted Republican Ken Paxton. Subsequent daily filings reveal another $9.1 million aimed at Talarico, bringing the PAC’s total spending against the Democrat this cycle to nearly $28 million. That figure represents roughly 40 percent of all money the group has spent supporting or opposing candidates. The PAC also shifted toward digital advertising, spending $11.4 million on online ads in the two-week window, an amount close to its combined spending on mail and texting.

Musk has been the largest known individual donor in these midterms. WIRED’s analysis of Federal Election Commission filings indicates he has given more than $445 million to Republican political groups this election cycle. Since July alone, more than $165 million has flowed to America PAC. The group declined to comment on the figures.

Musk has also engaged directly in the campaign. On Wednesday, he wrote on X that there is something deeply wrong with Talarico, calling the candidate a creep and claiming without evidence that Talarico would vote to take away children to transition them. Earlier this month, Musk amplified a false claim that Talarico had received treatment at a mental health facility. Talarico responded the same day, stating there is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal US Senator.

The race remains within reach of either candidate. An Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely Texas voters, conducted October 17 to 19, placed Talarico at 48 percent and Paxton at 46 percent, inside the poll’s 3-point margin of error. The outcome carries weight for Musk beyond the Senate seat. If Democrats win the House, committee chairs have signaled they will investigate Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency, federal contracts held by his companies, and what California Representative Zoe Lofgren described as an astounding number of conflicts of interest.

Silicon Valley Democrats have also targeted SpaceX’s Starshield satellite service in Ukraine. In a letter to the White House demanding an investigation, Representatives Sam Liccardo, Jimmy Panetta, and Ro Khanna stated the next Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Musk’s businesses.