Lobbying is surprisingly cheap. The entire pharma industry spends $5B/year, while the entire fossil fuel industry spends $2B/year[0]. Both have achieved a large degree of control over government decisions affecting them.
Elon could have had his weapons program for $1B. He could have dominated defense spending for a decade for $25B. I don’t think the ROI of this $44B of very indirect investment will compare.
Keep in mind he actually spent around half that. There were significant loans and other investments contributing.
He needs more than lobbying, he needs to sway an election. But there were obviously other reasons as well, he probably thinks a hive mind is cool to own and he could finally build his everything app X, etc.. it's just the orbital weapons program is near the top of that list as he thinks it's necessary to save humanity from itself. From free-wheeling philosophy discussions, he seems to think this SkyNet system is actually a kind of Roko's Basilisk.
It was $13B in loans from a variety of banks. Lenders makes yes/no decision on loans, they do not retain management interest the way equity investors do.
Elon could have had his weapons program for $1B. He could have dominated defense spending for a decade for $25B. I don’t think the ROI of this $44B of very indirect investment will compare.
[0] https://www.investopedia.com/investing/which-industry-spends...