Elon Musk wrote a check for $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund. That's not a typo. That's not his monthly Twitter server bill. That's just political donations.
The Senate Leadership Fund raised $273 million total. Musk provided 58% of it. One guy. One checkbook. The rest of the Republican Party combined for the other $115 million, which is honestly embarrassing for them.
The money's going to Texas to defend Ken Paxton. Texas. The state Republicans win by margins so large they use scientific notation. Paxton's apparently in enough trouble that they need to airlift in Musk money like it's Berlin in 1948.
Retail traders saw this headline and immediately started buying Tesla calls because they think campaign finance and car sales are somehow correlated. They're checking their portfolios every six minutes wondering why TSLA isn't up 40% because Musk likes senators now.
The Senate Leadership Fund set a record. Their previous record was probably something normal like $140 million raised from 9,000 donors over two years. Now it's $273 million with one guy doing the heavy lifting while everyone else brings potato salad to the potluck.
Musk spent $158 million on political donations. For context, that's roughly what he loses in couch cushions every time one of his companies misses earnings. It's a rounding error on his net worth. It's what he tips the valet when he's feeling generous.
None of this matters for your portfolio. Elon Musk buying senators has the same impact on your trading account as the temperature in Uzbekistan. But you'll probably trade on it anyway because you need action like a degenerate needs a slot machine. Ken Paxton thanks you for your service.
Photo by Brecht Corbeel on Unsplash
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