Bernie Sanders turns ‘oligarch’ charge on Elon Musk, slams $366 million Republican funding

Bernie Sanders accused Elon Musk of using his wealth to advance an ‘oligarchy’, citing reported donations to Republican campaigns ahead of US midterm elections. Musk has also accused powerful Indian business groups of blocking Starlink, while India’s government rejected his allegation.

US Senator Bernie Sanders has accused billionaire Elon Musk of promoting an 'oligarchy' through his massive political spending, targeting the SpaceX CEO over reports that he is investing $366 million to help Republicans maintain their hold on Congress in the upcoming US midterm elections.

Sanders slammed Musk for allegedly using his vast fortune to shape the country's political landscape and called for an end to the growing influence of billionaires.

In a post on X, Sanders connected Musk's political contributions with the sharp rise in his wealth after US President Donald Trump's election victory last year. The senator claimed that the financial gains Musk had made since Trump's return to power had not stopped him from spending even more money to support Republican candidates.

"Elon Musk spent $290 million to elect Trump. It paid off. Since his election, Musk got $696 billion richer & became the world’s 1st trillionaire. But that’s not enough. Now, Musk is spending $366 million to keep Republicans in control of Congress. STOP MUSK. STOP OLIGARCHY," Sanders said.

How much is Musk spending on US midterm elections?

Musk's financial backing of Republican candidates has come into focus as political parties gear up for the US midterm elections. According to a report by The New York Times on Monday, Musk has contributed $276 million since July, of which $158 million went to a super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates. This has made him the biggest individual political donor so far this year.

America PAC spokesman Andrew Romeo defended the contributions, telling The New York Times, "These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history."

Musk alleges Indian business interests are blocking Starlink

Sanders' remarks come against the backdrop of Musk's recent criticism of India's business environment, particularly over the proposed entry of his satellite internet venture, Starlink, into the country's telecommunications market.

Musk had alleged on X that influential business groups were preventing Starlink from entering India to safeguard their existing market positions. His comments came in response to a discussion about the potential need for the satellite internet service in the country.

"Unfortunately, we (Starlink) are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are … This is a crime against the people of India," Musk stated.

The Ministry of Communications, meanwhile, has defended India's regulatory framework, describing the authorisation process for satellite communication services as fair and non-discriminatory. It has stressed that operators must fulfil the prescribed security obligations before moving ahead with subsequent stages of approval.

"The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services," the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry further said that authorisations had been issued to three global mobile personal communication by satellite service providers operating through non-geosynchronous satellite orbit technology. Security evaluations of all three licensees are currently underway.

It added that operators must establish their compliance with security requirements to protect users and their data. The allocation of spectrum can be taken up after the necessary assessments have been completed.

Musk's allegations that powerful Indian business interests are attempting to restrict competition have also brought his own political activities in the US into focus.

Although the billionaire has accused unnamed business groups in India of using their influence to maintain market dominance, his reported financial contributions to Republican campaigns have raised questions about the role of wealthy individuals in shaping American politics.

Sanders has repeatedly raised concerns about the disproportionate political influence that billionaires can exercise through their financial resources.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X