Musk’s $168 Million Backs Paxton’s Senate Bid

Elon Musk sent $158 million to a super PAC, which transferred the same amount the next day to a group backing Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign, according to campaign-finance filings released Thursday. Musk also gave $10 million to a separate pro-Paxton super PAC. Together, the contributions made the world’s richest person the biggest known midterm donor and a major source of financial support for the Texas attorney general’s bid.

The Money Trail

The Senate Leadership Fund received two donations from Musk: $75 million on Sept. 9 and $83 million on Sept. 23. Both times, the super PAC sent the same amount the following day to Texas PAC, a group it had set up to support Paxton’s Senate bid.

The New York Times reported that the money sent to the Texas group wasn’t necessarily Musk’s. Senate Leadership Fund officials had publicly said they were seeking new donations for a pro-Paxton operation. Still, the report said the group likely wouldn’t have sent such a large amount to Paxton without Musk’s contributions.

The donations ranked among the biggest ever recorded in American politics, the report said. It also said an individual donor had rarely been effectively tied to such a large commitment for one candidate. The filings added detail to the sequence after The New York Times reported on Monday that Musk’s contributions to the Senate Leadership Fund could help Paxton.

Musk also gave $10 million to a pro-Paxton super PAC. That contribution allowed the group to start running television ads in late August. Together, the donations helped keep Paxton financially competitive in a race where his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, had vastly outraised him.

A Donor With Business Before the State

Musk lives in Austin and has major business interests in Texas. As state attorney general, Paxton regulates Musk’s businesses in the state. The two have been allies in state politics.

The filings document large contributions from a billionaire whose companies the candidate receiving support regulates. They don’t establish that Paxton took any regulatory action for Musk or that the donations were exchanged for a particular result. The article describes their relationship, the donations and Paxton’s regulatory role, but identifies no specific decision involving Musk’s businesses.

Musk has shown little public or private enthusiasm for midterm candidates and has rarely posted on X, his social media site, about Republican nominees. In recent days, though, he has posted negatively about Talarico several times. Talarico has criticized billionaires like Musk for their political influence on the campaign trail.

A Costly Race

Republicans in Texas have grown increasingly worried about the contest, one of this year’s most expensive and high-profile races. They fear losing a statewide election in Texas for the first time in more than three decades.

The article describes campaign contributions, political alliances and a state regulatory relationship; it doesn’t report a union role, a labor response or a reform proposal. Nor does it detail how the campaign spending affects workers or public services. The documented financial sequence is narrower: Musk’s donations flowed through political action committees to groups supporting Paxton, while Talarico criticized billionaires’ political influence and raised far more from other sources.

The New York Times article was dated October 16, 2026. Theodore Schleifer is a Times reporter covering billionaires and their impact on the world.