r/politics • u/SheepherderRude4991 • 6h ago
No Paywall Elon Musk pours $168 million into Texas in late-stage effort to boost Ken Paxton
https://www.ms.now/news/elon-musk-midterms-donation-ken-paxton•
u/pretty_shabby Australia 6h ago
Such a corrupt system . Get out and vote Texans. In the millions
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u/2HDFloppyDisk 6h ago
Dude wants to buy the state so he can do what he wants with his businesses he moved out of CA.
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u/antigop2020 5h ago
He already is doing what he wants with his businesses. He wants to own us next…
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u/oneseason2000 4h ago
Neo-feudalism sure seems to be the goal of the Heritage Foundation, and the insanely wealthy supporting their 50-year+ anti-democracy agenda. Musk (much like POTUS) seems to like the limelight, but I bet hundreds more of similar ilk are toiling away diligently in silence.
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u/Slackballed 5h ago edited 3h ago
Dude wants to make sure R’s stay in power so his SoaceX scam
can keep him a trillionaire. He does t own any D’s.•
u/notie547 5h ago
yup. The money will pale in comparison to the billions he makes in return on his businesses when Paxton lets him do what he wants.
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u/Dr-Mumm-Rah 5h ago
Generally, early voting in person begins the 17th day before Election Day (if that’s a weekend, early voting starts on Monday) and ends the 4th day before Election Day. Vote at a location in your political subdivision that’s close to where you live or work. All other voting rules and procedures apply – e.g., eligibility and polling hours.
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u/HereForTheComments57 4h ago
Aside from the obvious benefits of not voting for paxton. If he loses, Elon wasted millions of dollars. It's an added bonus!
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u/tripping_on_phonics California 5h ago
Would be nice if you could send some of that RCV and compulsory voting over this way.
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u/Colossus-of-Roads Australia 5h ago
I mean, we'd love to. Would you like an independent federal commission to run the elections too? We've got it all!
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u/fergehtabodit 2h ago
Yeah, flush Elon's cash down the drain. Let's go TX!! Make that money not matter
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u/jibishot 5h ago
Get out and get kicked out of voter registration.
Amazing that money can even do illict things.
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u/zenerat Missouri 5h ago
One person should not be able to buy elections. Our system is broken
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u/Erratic_-Prophet 5h ago
That's his free speech to buy elections!/s
America is broken
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u/TheSoCalledExpert 5h ago
According to Supreme Court decision Citizens United vs USA, your “/s” is actually erroneous.
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u/Cool-Mom-Lover 1h ago
It feels like people with obscene amounts of money have more free speech than the rest of us.
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u/SpeaksSouthern 5h ago
Imagine spending a single dollar on Ken fucking Paxton. How many people live in Texas? Tell me the number and subtract like 20 humans and that's how many people would make a better representative than Ken Paxton. He's so fucking gross.
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u/47-45-45-4B 5h ago
And he makes his money from USA Federal funds. This is already illegal for him to do, should be double since he is taking government funds.
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u/Futureretroism 1h ago
Much less one foreigner who made his way in the world on the back of apartheid blood money from his home country.
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u/TheSexySovereignSeal 6h ago
Is he going to start another raffle to give people who vote for him a million dollars and HAVE ZERO FUCKING CONSEQUENCES AGAIN?!
You think his private security is better than the secret service?
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u/Professional-Can1385 5h ago
He’ll start wearing one of his kids again if he gets scared.
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u/Several-Opposite-746 5h ago
Wearing big block of cheese and doing nazi salutes always goes over well.
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u/adorablefuzzykitten 5h ago
$138M is ~0.001% of Elon's net worth. Elon pays $138M to elect a single GOP senator because it will make him $1,380M later on. People need to wake up.
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u/Street_Anxiety2907 5h ago
We are awake but I'm taped to this chair and the "LAUNCH NUKES" button has been removed by scrappers. What do i do?
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u/saposapot26 5h ago
No, he's gonna rig the election machines like he did Everything else is just the coverup. Or we should believe trump won all swing states. That all the statistical anomalies are just coincidences?
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u/TheSexySovereignSeal 5h ago
Somebody have a link to that video where his child shield says "they'll never know" "we quietly just do whatever we want" and he physically tries to quiet his dad when he talks about voting in Pennsylvania?
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u/Yadahoom 5h ago
https://youtu.be/q7L38Bco3NQ?is=9vuNso797UbQFRNk
Ignore the weird music and reaction slop, it's the only version I can still find with the Pennsylvania part that wasn't removed.
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u/Jimbomcdeans 3h ago
I think he forced the FAA to hide his private plane info so that people couldnt target him
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u/tasiewbao 5h ago
To your second question, yea, definitely. The secret service is in crisis and has been for a while. There's a John Oliver episode about that if you're curious.
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u/AdventurousAyin 5h ago
Imagine having to spend $200 million on a red candidate in a red state and he's still behind.
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u/NWASicarius 5h ago
Good. Make them bleed financially
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u/ChillPalm 5h ago
Unfortunately it hardly makes a dent. These ppl have way too much money and the system is set up for them to rig elections.
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u/Much-Instruction-807 4h ago
Musk is spending 100s of millions and it's just a fraction of a percent of his wealth.
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u/djanes376 Illinois 3h ago
This money could be spent better literally anywhere else, but no, it's spent to prop up a terrible senate candidate in Texas. FFS.
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u/ChopperChange 6h ago
No amount of expensive lipstick is going to make a pig like Ken Paxton look good.
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u/You_meddling_kids 5h ago
That's not the plan. The plan is to flood the airwaves with fake AI clips of Talarico saying things he didn't say. That's what's going on now.
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u/ChopperChange 5h ago
That sounds illegal, and doing illegal things is something Republicans are experts at.
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u/Street_Anxiety2907 5h ago
They have an ad of Talarico saying he supports child porn in his own voice, so it's whatever I guess. Figured it was AI
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u/GiuseppaCalcagno 5h ago
That’s not a smart idea. That’s just going to win Talarico more republican votes.
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u/You_meddling_kids 4h ago
I don't think older people have any idea how to spot AI, or even think about it.
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u/SpeaksSouthern 5h ago
That's why 100% of the ads are targeting Talirico personal life. Calling him weird. Calling him gay. Calling him short. Calling him ugly. Basically all the insults Trump gives Ken Paxton Elon musk is starting a campaign against Talirico using the exact same insults. Voters love this for some reason. Just Texas things lol
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u/motherseffinjones 5h ago
It’s Texas I wouldn’t be surprised if Paxton won. He’s probably favoured
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u/Bebopo90 5h ago
He's been behind in every poll for a month or two now. As long as the people get out to vote, are allowed to vote, and their votes are counted, Talarico will probably win.
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u/motherseffinjones 5h ago
I’ve heard that to many times to believe it before I see it.
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u/Bebopo90 1h ago
It's very rare that politicians lose when they're consistently ahead by +3-5 points for months ahead of an election.
Could happen here due to Texas fuckery, but Talarico does have a very good chance at winning.
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u/readmorebookskids 5h ago
If your votes didn't matter they wouldn't be pulling this bullshit.
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u/victoriaisme2 5h ago
Exactly. I wish more people understood this. So many just won't vote and it is infuriating
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u/discoduck007 I voted 6h ago
Gross Elon. Wait it's Elon...
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u/Greenearthgirl87 6h ago
Yeah- typical Elon. Always helping the bad guys.
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u/Skurvy2k 6h ago
Okay but did you see that thing they made look like a car kind of juttered around the sky for a second?
That's something right?
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u/dominiond66 5h ago
Musk has already bought the Republican Party and the federal Government. Why not continue to purchase each of the 50 states creating "Financial Fascism". This is one of hundreds of reasons why concentrated wealth is so evil/criminal/corrupt and more importantly immoral.
Democrats/the media/concerned citizens in Texas must spread the word throughout the state that when you are voting for any Republican on the ballot, you are voting for Musk/Trump/decadent billionaires who don't care about the working class. AI/Musk and the other titans of technology want complete control of society via data center/greed and technology. Say NO on the ballot in November. Could be your last chance for freedom!
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u/ZuesMyGoose 6h ago
Oligarchy is expensive.
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u/Prestigious-Car-4877 Canada 5h ago
Pretending he's still a trillionaire, if you were to be worth a million bucks that'd be $168 bucks to you.
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u/KnightDuty 5h ago
Yeah but what does that math come out to when we factor in the imminent stock plummet when Trump is arrested and he's testifying about treason?
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u/mok000 Europe 5h ago
And the polls haven’t budged even a fraction of a percentage. In fact when Elon donates his millions it actually strengthens the opposition. He doesn’t understand how much people hate him, from left to right.
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u/dtapusa69 5h ago
Citizens United should have been called oligarchs United. One guy shouldn't be allowed to do this
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u/metalxslug 4h ago
Billionaires are the modern day nobility. We can't solve our problems until we outlaw them again.
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u/newfie02 4h ago
You can advocate for getting big money out of your politics. Elect politicians who will change the system and vote them out if they renege on their promises to do so.
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u/AuthorityAnarchyYes 5h ago
How could ANYONE with even 0.04% of a brain vote for Paxton
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u/studiouslystudious 5h ago edited 5h ago
Fear of Democrats in any form of political power. Many genuinely believe Talarico is living a lie as a closeted gay man who is a vegan, isn't a true Christian, and may be a socialist/communist/marxist/whatever buzzword. Most will vote with no reservations and others will say it's "the lesser of two evils."
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u/crujones43 5h ago
This is why America is doomed. They think the lesser of 2 evils is that genuinely corrupt piece of shit. Best of luck in the mid terms but the rest of the world is shaking their lowered heads and not expecting much.
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u/studiouslystudious 5h ago
Paxton can absolutely win. He's barely said anything during the entire campaign and tries to avoid any negative spotlight focusing on his history. He only uses two selling points: that he's a Republican and petty lies about Talarico that he's gay, a trans lover, not a true Christian or whatever. And Republicans do get riled up when there's a viral phrase like "God is nonbinary" from Talarico.
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u/JohnStamosAsABear 4h ago
"God is nonbinary"
This is so funny. Are there deep christian theological debates about God's penis? Someone should ask Paxton if God can get a boner.
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u/Nikopoleous 5h ago
Sounds like this fucker has plenty of wealth to tax if he can splurge on ads for a doomed candidate.
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u/icebergslim3000 5h ago
Why is this immigrant running our elections?
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u/victoriaisme2 5h ago
Because too many Dems and every Republican loves money more than anything else
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u/Adventurous_Test_296 5h ago
Musk sneezes this much into his bubble bath. He'll throw money at every bad cause. Like flying cars. Do some freaking good with a buck like lift people up, how about?
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u/BoredomFestival 4h ago
Consider: Elon Musk could have been (by far) the greatest philanthropist in all of history. End homelessness. Feed the hungry. Build schools and hospitals. People would have sung his praises for centuries. Instead, he's one of the most evil people on the planet. By choice.
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u/Varesk 4h ago
Elon is scared. When dems win, people are going to jail.
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u/TwoDurans 1h ago
Or government subsidies that went untested are going to be questioned and eliminated. His companies are dependent on them to stay afloat.
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u/HylanderUS 5h ago
Where does he spend all this money?! And what kind of shell company/front do I have to create to scam some of it?
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u/DaddyBison 5h ago
He spends it through his AMERICA PAC, mostly on AI slop ads on every social media and video sharing website. So go post a bunch of centrist-friendly content on Youtube until you start getting ad revenue
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u/Wise-Hippo6088 5h ago
Ads specifically paid for by loans against his stock assets.
If his stock goes up then the ratio of debt to value goes down. Which he would actually end up making money if the plan actually works.
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u/kaizokuo_grahf America 4h ago
Loans on unrealized gains should be fucking criminal. It’s FUCKED our country and allowed people just like him to do whatever they want
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u/Adorable_Leg74 4h ago
How would you write the law?
Problem is — if my neighbor takes a loan out of her house (against the unrealized gains in equity) — in order to build out an addition so her aged mother can live with her — isn’t that a good thing?
The issue is the money is spent on politics. I believe in free speech for all citizens — yet I think the microphone should be limited to what 99% of Americans could actually afford to spend on politics. A $3K hard limit — no hiding behind corporations are people — for all American politics.
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u/kaizokuo_grahf America 37m ago
Houses/propety and stocks are vastly different things, both in terms of overall value and volatility. A house is like a bar of gold, the price may fluctuate but it’s not going to lose 50% of its value because its owner is a sociopath. it’s tangible collateral. Stock values jump all over the god-damned place, and the way these billionaires are able to take ungodly amounts in loans out against a made up snapshot value is immoral. There is no remediation if a stock goes to zero.
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u/CatalyticDragon 3h ago
How would that work? Do you regulate a list of only approved assets which can be used for private lenders to underwrite loans? Seems complex and doesn't address the issue which is private money used to manipulate public policics.
I don't think banks lending to people is the reason for America's issues. If the bank wants to lend to someone at an interest rate they decide then so be it. It's not like Elon isn't able to raising money though a number of other means.
The problem is that it is somehow legal to funnel that money into politics including obvious misinformation and propaganda which itself should be illegal under any sort of normal media laws.
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u/goon_platoon_72 4h ago
He needs to be able to say after all republicans win in a landslide, “why would I spend all this money if I had fixed the election?” I can see his smug stupid face and hear his drugged out Mickey Mouse voice saying it.
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u/luri7555 Washington 5h ago
That means he knows he will lose more than he’s spending if MAGA loses power.
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u/darth_wasabi Texas 4h ago
There’s an ad on Hulu that says Talarico will prosecute parents who don’t let their kids get sex reassignment surgery. That’s what we’re dealing with
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u/Zulmoka531 5h ago
At what point does this kind of money hit a diminishing return? Like even if he put billboards on every square inch of Texas, bought all the TV and radio airspace, does it really change who’s going to vote for who?
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u/stephen-nc 5h ago
What is this guy afraid of? It's not related to money (because he has plenty of it). So, what is it?
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u/Srnkanator Texas 5h ago
It's not rocket science why Elon wants Paxton to win.
Well, it actually is. Musk has a lot to lose of we have a Senator like Talarico holding his rocket company and car companies accountable.
And he very well knows if he donates this much to Paxton and he wins, all the shit he will be able to get away with.
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u/strato15 5h ago
It didn’t work in Wisconsin‘s Supreme Court race. It won’t work here. Let him burn his money on a loser.
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u/imoljoe 5h ago
Nobody ever talks about it, but this is the actual reason you can’t have people with this amount of wealth. They can use it to influence public policy to their benefit. And this is an absolute drop in the bucket for him. It’s like the equivalent of you rounding up the dollar at the grocery store checkout.
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u/showhorrorshow 4h ago
This brings his total up to what now? Something like over $500M? It's disgusting.
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u/DiscoQuebrado America 4h ago
I wish Elon Musk would pour $168 million into my bank account in a late stage effort to boost DiscoQuebrado. At very least, I pledge not to make anyone's life worse.
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u/goodtimesinchino 3h ago
Wonder how many voting-counter machines that pays to control/override… hmmm….
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u/CrimsonHeretic 5h ago
This fucking Nazi loser is going to spend $1 billion on midterm elections in the US. And somehow that's ok with Americans.
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u/aeropl3b Wisconsin 4h ago
It is not okay with Americans. But only some of us get elected, and the majority get elected because of this...
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u/TreeFiddyJohnson 3h ago
Do you know anything about how the American legal system works? So many Americans are not ok with this lol
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u/Post_office_clerk01 5h ago
Deport this lowlife already and be done with him.
Nationalize his “Businesses” and lock up any members of DOGE.
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u/highsinthe70s 5h ago
This obscene financial contribution will allow for some excellent Talarico attack ads. “Ken Paxton, the best Senator Elon Musk can buy.” I still don’t know if Talarico can win, because it’s Texas. But he is up against the least appealing candidate in recent memory. Maybe the “legitimate rape” guy was worse. Maybe.
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u/motherseffinjones 5h ago
A prime example of why America is the way it is. Way to many special interest groups in your politics
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u/absessive Massachusetts 5h ago
If you’re a sane person and still buy Teslas this is partly your fault
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u/Frogacuda 5h ago
I'm all for wasting his money, I hope he spent $168m backing the Intellivision Amico on Kickstarter too.
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u/flatline000 4h ago
Only $168M? He's not even trying. He needs to commit and spend some real money.
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u/Low-Nature-5801 4h ago
International monitors not allowed, expect fraud like in some 3rd world country
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u/clap_yo_hands 3h ago
He could have gifted each of the public schools in Texas $18,000 instead. Imagine the good that might have done. This is disgusting
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u/frozenfriedchicken 3h ago
I wish I had $168 million to flush straight into the toilet and not care.
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u/Ohshiznoodlemuffins 3h ago
Oooh nice. They're scared guys! Now get out there and make them cry like the brats they are!
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u/Orion14159 2h ago
It's literally more cost effective for Elon to buy the Republicans a Senate majority than to pay the taxes he theoretically could have to pay if the Democrats take control.
I have never heard a better argument against voting for Republicans.
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u/NuclearGriffin 2h ago
Man I didn't like Ken Paxton until I realized that he got $168 million from Elon Musk. Now my mind is totally changed! Thank you Elon Musk!
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u/Everyusernametaken1 1h ago
He could have wipes out so much medical debt for people . Helped so many poor children . This alone is so sad
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u/nowhereman136 1h ago
Peanuts to musk. If someone with a networth of $1million donated the equivalent amount of money as Musk, it would be around $175.
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u/Turbo__Sanwich 1h ago
We can assume that he's desperate but then you realize it's the equivalent of us spending a quarter
Fuck Musk. I hope in my life I can see his live steam
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