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Elon Musk gambled $445 million to boost Republicans in the midterms. It came up short

First seen Nov 5, 2026, 6:00 AM ET · Updated Nov 5, 2026, 5:44 PM ET · 2 outlets

Topics: 2026 Midterm ElectionsElon Musk & Starlink

2 outlets (PBS NewsHour and The Guardian US) are covering this story.

How outlets are covering this: 2 outlets ran their own headlines on this story. Both headlines use “midterms”, “Elon”, “Musk”. Distinct wording: PBS NewsHour uses “Republicans” and “million”; The Guardian US uses “Stateside” and “biggest”. (Computed from the headlines below.)

• PBS NewsHour reports: “Nobody may have suffered bigger losses Tuesday than President Donald Trump. But few others had more on the line than Musk, who gambled big and came up holding the midterm's worst return on investment.”
• The Guardian US reports: “The tech industry spent big on the midterms, but it turned out to be a poor investment. Elon Musk poured a staggering $446m dollars into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and gr…”

Read the full coverage

• PBS NewsHour: Elon Musk gambled $445 million to boost Republicans in the midterms. It came up short
• The Guardian US: Was Elon Musk the US midterms' biggest loser? – Stateside with Kai and Carter

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