The removed messages featured a pinned October 29 endorsement for Republican senators alongside an Election Day appeal urging followers to back conservative candidates. The scrub occurred early Wednesday as Democrat James Talarico defeated Elon Musk-backed Republican Ken Paxton in the high-profile Texas Senate race. Musk later pivoted to posting sarcastic commentary and promoting business ventures like Starlink and Grok, whose AI confirmed the post removals. Federal Election Commission filings show Musk channeled at least $458 million into Republican causes, including $216 million into America PAC for turnout and digital advertising.
Key points
Musk invested at least $458 million into Republican causes, making him the cycle's larges…: Musk invested at least $458 million into Republican causes, making him the cycle's largest individual political donor.
Candidate defeats occurred across dozens of contests despite $216 million directed to Ame…: Candidate defeats occurred across dozens of contests despite $216 million directed to America PAC for voter mobilization.
Following the deletions, public communications quickly pivoted away from party politics b…: Following the deletions, public communications quickly pivoted away from party politics back toward commercial technology ventures.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
The deleted posts included an October 29 message, which Musk had pinned to his profile, urging voters to elect Republican senators, as well as an Election Day post saying “Vote red today!”. Forbes reported that Musk removed the pinned message early Wednesday, around the time Democrat James Talarico claimed victory in the Texas Senate race.
The report comes after Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, who had received substantial financial backing from Musk.
Musk's chatbot Grok also confirmed the deletion after an X user asked whether he was removing posts related to the election. “True,” Grok replied late Wednesday morning, saying Musk had deleted the “Vote red today!” message after the results showed “major Republican losses”.
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The Election Day appeal was among Musk's few direct interventions on the platform urging support for Republicans.
It had appeared alongside posts promoting Grok and a message featuring a raised-eyebrow emoji in response to Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who also won his Senate race.
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