Musk gives GOP a boost ahead of the midterms

Musk gives GOP a boost ahead of the midterms

Tech trillionaire Elon Musk gave $276 million to several Republican super PACs and organizations over the past three months, as the GOP faces headwinds ahead of the midterm elections.

© Jacquelyn Martin, The Associated Press

This brings the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s total contributions so far to $366 million . A spokesperson for Musk’s America PAC confirmed the numbers to The Hill, which were first reported by The New York Times.

Between July and September, Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC backing Republican Senate candidates, and $20 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which supports GOP House candidates.

The move signals Musk’s appetite for political involvement, despite his suggestions he could pull back spending for the midterms.

Musk’s America PAC, which he launched during the 2024 election, received more than $76 million .

He also gave $10 million to the Lone Star Liberty PAC backing Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, $10 million to the Republican Governors Association and $2 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association.

Musk, who long stayed out of politics, jumped into the political world during the 2024 elections, pouring hundreds of millions into the presidential race for Trump.

He joined the then-candidate on the campaign trail and later led Trump’s cost-cutting effort known as the Department of Government Efficiency . The project sparked controversy for its sweeping job and funding cuts across the federal government.

He departed the White House in late May 2025 and, after a public fallout with Trump, stayed quiet for months in the political space.

Musk said last May he planned to spend “a lot less” on politics, and he later told The Economist in a July interview he “got carried away” and “a little too involved in politics.”

Check out a full report at TheHill.com .

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter , we’re Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:

Microsoft president: AI faces fewer safety requirements than milk, washing machines

Microsoft President Brad Smith says AI has fewer safety requirements than milk and washing machines, arguing in a BBC interview released Sunday that self-regulation is not “sufficient any longer.” Smith acknowledged that the idea of government evaluators signing off on a product before its release “makes people nervous,” particularly in the U.S. “But just remember, right now, your washing machine …

Most in new poll oppose bets on elections

Most Americans regardless of party oppose betting on election results through prediction markets such as Kalshi or Polymarket, according to a new survey. A Reuters/Ipsos poll, released Monday, found that 60 percent of respondents did not support betting on election results, as the midterm elections near. Another 13 percent said they support betting, while 24 percent were unsure and 3 percent skipped the question. Prediction …

Philadelphia police receive false homicide tip from Anthropic AI model

Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model submitted a false homicide tip to the Philadelphia Police Department in July, the company disclosed Friday. The AI firm said its Claude Haiku 4.5 model filled out a form on a website page soliciting the public’s help to gather more information about unsolved homicide on July 18. The model submitted a tip claiming it had knowledge about the case. Anthropic said it had instructed …

Kalshi investigating suspicious bets tied to White house press secretary pick: Reports

Prediction market Kalshi has opened an investigation into suspicious bets related to President Trump’s selection of his next press secretary, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company said that it was looking into at least three trades placed on its platform shortly before news outlets began announcing the appointment of Katie Zacharia to the White House press secretary role around 2 p.m., according to the outlet. …

News we’ve flagged from t he intersection of tech and other topics:

Meta releases first frontier AI model, Muse Wonder ( TechCrunch )

Trump administration plans to move AI testing agency officials to White House ( The Information )

Branch out with other reads on The Hill:

White House on Trump purchasing SpaceX debt before space order: ‘No conflicts of interest’

The White House said Friday there was no conflict of interest when President Trump’s accounts bought more than $1 million in SpaceX debt two days before he signed an executive order on space transportation policy. The president’s financial disclosure for August, published Thursday, shows Trump’s accounts purchased between $1 million and $5 million in senior unsecured notes from Elon Musk’s aerospace …

Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: