17 better ways Elon Musk could have wasted $446 million

Elizabeth Lopatto argues that Elon Musk's roughly $500 million in midterm spending, including $47 million from his America PAC aimed at defeating Texas Democrat James Talarico, failed as Talarico won with 55 percent of the vote. She attributes the miscalculation to the X bubble and the unpopularity of data centers and AI companies, then lists alternative purchases for $446 million, from Larry Ellison's private island to Super Bowl ads. She notes that politicians who ran against Musk's money are now in power in Texas, raising the prospect of investigations into his influence.