Elon Musk spent nearly $500 million on the midterms and lost big-time

This was the Cybertruck of elections.

By Lawrence Bonk Nov. 4, 2026 12:01 pm EST Scott Olson/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

The midterms are (mostly) behind us. We're still waiting on results from a bunch of races, including senate races in Mississippi and Alaska. Despite that, there are two undisputed facts. This was a hell of a great election for Democrats and a really bad one for "dark MAGA" acolyte Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO spent nearly $500 million to elect Republican candidates, according to FEC filings reported on by Forbes.