Elon Musk Is Spending $442 Million To Keep Republicans In Congress: Bernie Sanders Says, ‘Gee, I Wonder Why?’

Elon Musk has poured approximately $446 million (£334.5 million) into political action committees supporting Republicans in the 2026 US midterm elections, making him the largest individual donor of the election cycle so far, according to reports.

The scale of the spending has drawn criticism from Senator Bernie Sanders, who questioned the relationship between Musk's growing fortune, his companies' dealings with the federal government and their reported federal income tax payments.

In a post on X, Sanders pointed to Musk's reported increase in wealth since Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, alongside SpaceX's federal contracts and claims about corporate income tax payments. He ended his message with a pointed question: 'Gee, I wonder why?'

Campaign finance filings show that Musk's contributions have gone to several Republican-aligned groups rather than directly to individual candidates alone. The donations come as both parties compete for control of the House of Representatives and Senate in the elections scheduled for 3 November.

The dispute raises questions about the role wealthy donors play in American elections, particularly when their business interests overlap with federal policy decisions.

Elon Musk's $446 Million Political Donations Target Republican Groups

Musk's contributions have reached America PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, among other Republican-aligned organisations. These groups support different parts of the Republican electoral operation, from voter mobilisation to advertising in congressional contests.

According to reporting by The Washington Post published on 23 October, the breakdown of Musk's contributions included approximately $216 million (£162 million) for America PAC, $168 million (£126 million) for the Senate Leadership Fund and $30 million (£22.5 million) for the Congressional Leadership Fund.

These figures represent reported contributions, not necessarily the amount already spent by the recipient organisations.

The Senate Leadership Fund is a super PAC dedicated to electing Republican senators. America PAC, which Musk founded, has supported Republican candidates and voter-turnout operations, including canvassing and outreach efforts.

Super PACs can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations to finance independent political spending. They cannot coordinate their independent expenditures with candidates' campaigns, although their spending can influence which messages voters encounter during an election.

Bernie Sanders Questions Musk's Wealth, Government Contracts And Taxes

Sanders claimed Musk had become $680 billion (£510 billion) richer since Trump's election and had become the world's first trillionaire. These figures refer to estimates of personal wealth, which largely reflect the market value of company shares and other holdings rather than cash paid directly to Musk.

Musk's wealth is particularly sensitive to changes in the valuations of Tesla and SpaceX. SpaceX's public listing in June 2026 provided a public market valuation for the company, giving investors a new way to assess Musk's stake. However, the IPO alone does not establish how much his personal wealth increased over the period cited by Sanders.

Sanders also referred to $10 billion (£7.5 billion) in federal contracts for SpaceX. Government records and previous investigations have documented extensive public-sector business involving Musk's companies.

A report based on federal spending data, published by The Washington Post in 2025, identified billions of dollars in contracts, grants, loans and tax incentives involving companies including SpaceX and Tesla. However, those categories are not interchangeable, and the total depends on the period and types of government support counted.

His claim that Tesla and SpaceX paid no federal income taxes also requires careful qualification. The New York Times reported in August 2025, based on internal SpaceX documents, that the rocket company had likely paid little or no federal income tax over much of its existence, partly because of accumulated losses.

That reporting concerned SpaceX and does not, by itself, establish that both companies paid zero federal income tax in every relevant year.

The political question is whether donors with extensive government business should have such a large financial role in elections. Sanders has made that concern central to his criticism, while the donations themselves do not establish that Musk's political spending was made in exchange for government contracts or favourable treatment.

The midterm elections will determine which party controls Congress and oversees legislation, federal spending and investigations into the executive branch. The effect of Musk's spending on individual races remains to be seen.