Parties Business & economy Technology & AI Science

Elon Musk's record midterm spending fails to deliver Republican wins, and Tesla and SpaceX shares slide, with his net worth reported down by roughly $30bn

Musk spent at least $446m on Republican-aligned groups in the midterms; SpaceX and Tesla shares fell and his net worth is reported down by roughly $30bn.

L 46%C 31%R 23%

L 46% · C 31% · R 23% · 13 outlets

FL Far leftL LeftC CentreR RightFR Far right Bias scale, not party colours

Our outlet list is not evenly split: about 50% left-rated, 15% centre and 35% right-rated, so raw splits lean left by construction. Blindspots are tested against each side's own share. About our sample.

Left 1 · Centre-left 5 · Centre 4 · Centre-right 3 · Right 0

Context Sources by lean Video Deep dive Follow the money More coverage

How each side framed it

Right-leaning outlets

'Elon Musk’s net worth drops $33.5 billion as Democratic majorities loom' (Washington Examiner); 'Elon Musk suffers midterm blow as SpaceX, Tesla plummet: ‘My election-interfering space lasers didn’t work’' (New York Post).

Centre outlets

Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Elon Musk's millions failed to deliver Republican wins in fierce midterms” (BBC News); “The midterms have already cost Musk close to $30bn” (Financial Times).

Left-leaning outlets

'SpaceX and Tesla Stocks Tumble After Elon Musk-Backed Candidates Lose in Texas' (New York Times); 'After 2026 Midterm Losses, Elon Musk’s Era of Politics Is Just Beginning' (Bloomberg).

Context

We write the background for the day's biggest stories; for this one, start with these searches. How it works.

Search for more (live results, not checked by us): Wikipedia search · Explainers (Google News search) · Background and history (Google News search)

Sources by lean

Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.

Showing 3 from each side of 13 rated outlets (L 6 / C 4 / R 3). More coverage

Video

News reports, explainers and podcasts on YouTube. We pick and balance videos for the day's biggest stories; for this one, use these searches. Links open YouTube, which has its own privacy policy; nothing from YouTube loads on this page.

YouTube searches (live results, not checked or balanced by us): News videos · Explainers · Podcasts

Deep dive

A short prompt for thinking it through. We write a fuller side-by-side deep dive for the day's biggest stories.

The paradox: Same spending and results; the framing runs from 'flop' to a Musk joke.

A question to hold: What would each side need to see to change its mind?

Try it: open one right and one left article in Sources by lean and note what each takes for granted.

Follow the money

Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.

Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (13 outlets)

Outlet	Lean	Ownership & funding (MBFC)
Daily Beast	Left	The Daily Beast’s parent company is IAC (InterActiveCorp). which is run by Barry Diller, who had led the creation of the Fox network. IAC’s CEO is Joey Levin. IAC (InterActiveCorp) is a media and Internet company comprised of some of the world’s well-known brands, such as HomeAdvisor, Vimeo, About.com, Dictionary.com, Investopedia, and more. source
Bloomberg	Centre-left	Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (The parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. source
NBC News	Centre-left	No ownership data found
NPR	Centre-left	According to a Columbia Journalism Review article dated 2010, a large portion of NPR’s revenue comes from dues and fees paid by Member stations and corporate sponsorships. In another article by Columbia Journalism Review, they state that as of 2017, NPR receives less than 1 percent of its total funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting(CPB). source
New York Times	Centre-left	The Ochs-Sulzberger family controls the New York Times through Class B shares. Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Class B shares are those that are held privately. source
The Guardian	Centre-left	The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source
BBC News	Centre	The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source
Financial Times	Centre	The Financial Times is owned by The Nikkei, a Japanese news and financial information company that publishes the leading financial paper, The Nikkei. The FT generates revenue through subscriptions, a hard paywall, and advertising..push({}); source
Reuters	Centre	In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source
The Hill	Centre	In 2021, The Hill was purchased by Nexstar, which owns around 200 TV stations and media outlets nationwide. The founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar is Perry A. Sook. source
New York Post	Centre-right	The New York Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which owns many conservative/sensational media outlets worldwide. The paper is funded through advertising, subscriptions, and newsstand sales. source
Wall Street Journal	Centre-right	In 2007, The Bancroft family and relatives sold the Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch for 5 billion dollars. Rupert Murdoch also purchased its parent company, Dow Jones & Co., through News Corporation. Subscriptions and advertising fund the Wall Street Journal. source
Washington Examiner	Centre-right	The Washington Examiner is owned by Clarity Media Group, owned by Philip Anschutz, an American billionaire entrepreneur who describes himself as a “conservative Christian.” Anschutz is also the owner of the right-leaning Weekly Standard and has donated millions of dollars to right-leaning causes, including anti-LGBT groups, such as the Family Research Council, which has been labeled a hate group. source