'Vote red today!' Elon Musk deletes pro-Republican posts after spending $458 million

Musk removed several posts that directly encouraged support for Republican candidates during the US midterm elections. The deletions mattered because they followed major Democratic gains and came after Musk had invested heavily in Republican-aligned causes.

The deleted material included a pinned October 29 message urging voters to elect Republican senators. It also included an Election Day appeal reading “Vote red today!”. Forbes reported that Musk removed the pinned post early Wednesday, around the time Democrat James Talarico claimed victory in Texas.

Musk’s chatbot Vector later confirmed the deletion of the Election Day message. Vector said Musk removed it after results showed “major Republican losses”. Musk then posted jokes and election commentary before returning to technology topics such as Starlink and Vector. The removals suggest he no longer wanted those direct election appeals visible after the results.

The election shifted congressional control toward Democrats. The article says Democrats made significant gains and secured both chambers of Congress, meaning Republicans lost control of the House and Senate after the midterms.

Musk’s supported candidates generally performed poorly. He backed 106 House and Senate candidates. By around noon EST on Wednesday, only 19 had won, and all were in seats Republicans had been expected to retain. Another 47 had lost, while 40 races remained uncalled. Musk had directed major spending toward Texas, Senate efforts, and House battlegrounds.

The results weakened the political return on Musk’s spending and influence campaign. Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, where Musk had provided substantial financial backing. The Democratic takeover also coincided with market declines and prompted Musk to joke publicly about his election efforts. Remaining uncalled races could still change the final totals.

A super PAC is a political committee that raises and spends money to influence elections without directly coordinating its spending with candidates or their campaigns. It can support political messages and organizing at substantial scale, making it a powerful tool for wealthy donors and aligned causes.

Musk’s America PAC received about $216 million from him. The organisation financed voter turnout operations, ground-level campaigning, and targeted digital advertising. It focused on helping Republicans retain control of Congress, including efforts in Texas and important House battlegrounds in New York, New Jersey, and Iowa.

The mechanism lets a donor support an election strategy through a separate political group rather than appearing on a candidate’s campaign committee. The article reports that Musk increased his spending during the second half of the cycle. Despite that effort, Democrats won both chambers, and many Musk-backed candidates lost. The results show that large-scale political spending can amplify a campaign but cannot guarantee victory.

Musk was one of the biggest financial backers of Republican candidates and aligned political causes during the midterm election cycle. The article says he channelled at least $458 million into Republican-aligned causes, making him the largest individual donor in modern US political history during that cycle.

About $216 million went directly to his super PAC, America PAC, according to filings and reporting cited in the article. The organisation funded voter turnout work, ground-level campaigning, and targeted digital advertising. Musk also directed money toward the Texas Senate contest, the Senate Leadership Fund, and House battlegrounds.

The article gives another estimate of his overall political spending. Federal Election Commission data put his spending through super PACs and other individual contributions at around $474 million. The New York Times estimated that approximately $224 million went to Texas alone. The differing totals reflect different ways of counting political contributions and spending.

The election results coincided with a sharp decline in the value of Musk’s companies and personal wealth. Markets reacted to the prospect of a Democratic-controlled Congress, with concerns about a possible regulatory slowdown in data centre construction.

Tesla shares fell 3.3%, while SpaceX shares dropped 3.8%. Bloomberg reported that the declines erased more than $120 billion in value. Dell, Nvidia, and SoftBank also recorded notable falls. The market movement connected the election outcome with expectations about future regulation and technology investment.

Forbes estimated Musk’s net worth at $878 billion on Wednesday after it fell by $23.7 billion during the morning. The Financial Times estimated a larger personal loss of around $30 billion. These figures were market-based changes, not direct election payments. The article presents the decline alongside Musk’s costly political spending and the losses suffered by many of his supported candidates.

A wealthy person does not need to be a candidate to influence an election. They can donate to political committees, support aligned causes, and finance messages or organising that affect how voters learn about candidates and issues. Super PACs are designed for independent election spending.

Musk’s America PAC shows how this works. About $216 million went directly to the group. It funded voter turnout operations, ground-level campaigning, and targeted digital advertising. Musk also contributed to Republican-aligned causes, the Senate Leadership Fund, the Texas Senate contest, and House battlegrounds in New York, New Jersey, and Iowa.

This approach can expand a party’s reach without placing the donor on the ballot. The article says Musk spent at least $458 million on Republican-aligned causes, while broader FEC figures put his spending around $474 million. Yet money did not ensure success: Democrats won both chambers, and 47 of 106 Musk-backed candidates had lost by Wednesday noon.

US midterm elections are congressional elections held during a president’s four-year term, rather than during the presidential election itself. Voters choose members of the House and Senate. The article focuses on a midterm result in which Democrats made significant gains and secured both chambers of Congress.

Control of both chambers matters because Congress considers laws and government funding. A party with control can set much of the legislative agenda, advance bills through committees, and shape negotiations over national policy. It also has greater influence over oversight of the executive branch. However, congressional control does not mean every proposal automatically becomes law.

In this election, the result reversed the Republican advantage Musk had tried to protect with heavy spending. His supported candidates included House and Senate contenders, but 47 of 106 had lost by Wednesday noon. Democratic control could therefore affect future debates over regulation, spending, and other policies, including issues connected to technology and data centres.