Musk's $446M Midterm Bet Flops as Democrats Sweep His Key Senate Races

Elon Musk opened his wallet wide for the midterms. According to The Guardian, the billionaire has poured a staggering $446 million into Republican-aligned political action committees and groups since last year. The return on that investment? Roughly nothing.

Democrats won every one of the five Senate races where Musk's America PAC spent the most money backing Republican candidates. Five for five — a clean sweep against the tech industry's loudest and richest political donor.

The Guardian's Stateside podcast dug into the wreckage, with hosts Carter Sherman and Kai Wright joined by the outlet's US tech editor, Blake Montgomery. The group unpacked what the 'blue tsunami' means for Musk and for the wider tech industry that spent big and lost bigger.

One big question on the table: what happens to AI datacenters? The Guardian's panel asked whether the election result could spell the end of the buildout — and if so, what that would mean for the US economy.

For Musk, the midterms are a pricey scorecard. Hundreds of millions spent, zero wins in the races he targeted hardest. The broader tech sector now waits to see how the new political map treats its data-hungry, capital-heavy ambitions.