What Will Elon Musk Learn From the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election?

Elon Musk learned an important lesson on Tuesday: Money isn’t everything.

His $20 million effort to tilt a State Supreme Court race in Wisconsin to Republicans’ preferred candidate — and, as Musk said just hours before voting ended, to determine the fate of “Western civilization” — ended in failure when Democratic voters swamped the polls.

Musk isn’t the first wealthy man to discover that pouring cash into a campaign doesn’t guarantee victory. Just ask Michael Bloomberg. Or Tom Steyer.

But although Musk made the wrong financial bet, he was right that the race carried far larger stakes than simply the balance of Wisconsin’s highest court. The contest will help both parties craft a political strategy for next year’s midterm elections.

Special elections, like the one in Wisconsin, offer early clues about the political environment. For weeks, strategists have been wondering about the political impact of Musk, who has emerged as one of the most indefatigable forces in the new administration.

While polling indicates that Musk is broadly unpopular with Democrats and independents, some strategists wondered if he could drive Republicans to the polls, particularly in races where President Trump is not on the ballot.

Wisconsin offers an early indication that Musk does energize voters. Just not, perhaps, the ones he was aiming for.