Elon Musk dumps $366M into the 2026 midterms. Then officials discover what his PAC is texting voters: ‘Is something fishy going on?’

Elon Musk has poured at least $366 million into campaigns and political committees during the 2025-26 election cycle. Now, one of his political groups is raising questions in Colorado, where voters have been calling county election offices after receiving texts about mail ballots they say they never requested.

According to The New York Times, Musk’s spending has already surpassed the $290 million he gave during the 2023-24 cycle. The paper calculated the figure using filings with the Federal Election Commission and found that at least $276 million went to Republican groups and his own super PAC since July.

Musk donated $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC working to maintain the Republican majority in the Senate. It could be one of the largest political donations in American history. The report claims that it beat what the group’s Democratic rival raised from all of its donors that quarter.

Musk’s political spending goes beyond disclosed donations

Another $76 million has gone to America PAC, Musk’s own committee, since July. Its plan involves “a sprawling canvassing program to try to turn out hard-to-reach Republican voters.”

The $366 million covers only money that has been disclosed. One source said Musk made some “seven-figure donations” through groups that do not have to name their donors. Super PACs generally must report who funds them. Some nonprofit groups do not. Questions about Musk’s 2024 election spending have also drawn scrutiny, and his 2026 spending is now facing a similar level of attention.

Journalist Daniel Nichanian called the spending “absolutely insane” in a post. He said Musk is “single-handedly destroying records and swamping Dem candidates.” Mark Jacob, a former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, took a darker view. “He’s not doing it to make Americans more free,” Jacob wrote.

America PAC’s ballot texts have raised questions about how the group is contacting voters, according to CNN. The messages told voters their mail-ballot requests had been received and asked them to “confirm now where and when to return it.” Colorado automatically mails ballots to active registered voters, meaning many recipients had never submitted a request.

Carly Koppes, the Republican election chief in Weld County, said the texts caused real confusion among voters. She described their reaction: “Wait a second. I didn’t submit that request. Is something fishy going on?”

Josh Zygielbaum, the Democratic election chief in Adams County, said he had received about a dozen calls from people asking about the America PAC texts. The number of calls stood out because, as he put it, “people generally don’t pick up the phone these days unless there’s a bigger concern.”