Elon Musk Mocks Republicans’ Midterm Defeat After Spending Nearly $500m on Party

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has joked about the Republican Party's defeat in the US midterm elections after reportedly spending nearly half a billion dollars supporting its political efforts.

Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, dealing a major setback to President Donald Trump's political agenda.

Reacting to the results on X on Wednesday, Musk wrote: “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” alongside a shrug emoji.

Musk's Donations to Republican Campaigns

According to campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets, Musk contributed nearly $500 million to Republican political efforts, making him the largest individual contributor in a federal election cycle since unlimited election spending was permitted in 2010.

Much of his political spending went to his Republican-leaning America PAC and the Republican Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates.

The Senate Leadership Fund reportedly used $158 million donated by Musk in September to support Republican candidate Ken Paxton in Texas.

Democrat James Talarico Defeats Ken Paxton

Despite the financial support, Democrat James Talarico defeated Paxton, a close ally of Trump, to secure victory in Texas.

The result marked the first time a Democrat had won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

Speaking at his victory rally in Austin, Talarico criticised the powerful interests he said his campaign had faced, including Musk, Trump and political establishment figures in Washington.

“In this race, we went up against our own Goliaths. The richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world, and the entire Washington, DC establishment,” he said.

Musk's reaction came amid a wider Republican setback, with Democrats making significant gains in the midterm elections and taking control of Congress.

AFP