The conservative owners of Paramount’s media empire are reportedly considering asking billionaire Elon Musk to invest. The possibility introduces another powerful Republican donor into an acquisition already shadowed by concerns about billionaire control, conservative influence, and the future of major news organizations.

If an agreement is reached, Musk would gain financial influence over Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which Paramount is set to acquire. That would give him a stake in a media operation spanning news, films, and television shows.

Musk has a longstanding friendship with billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns Paramount alongside his son, David Ellison. Larry Ellison also invested in Musk’s successful bid to purchase Twitter, the platform now known as X.

Since Musk took over X, its algorithms have been changed to promote hateful, bigoted, and conspiratorial content. His potential arrival at Paramount would bring that record into an already contentious media consolidation fight.

Paramount’s attempt to take over Warner Bros. is now likely to proceed after the company reached a deal with 12 state attorneys general. Those officials had sued to block the acquisition, but the agreement cleared the way for the deal to move forward.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the impending merger after that agreement was reached. “America is free only when the media is competitive, independent, and accountable to the people,” he wrote on Bluesky.

Mamdani added, “This merger strikes a chilling blow against that freedom—and hands even more power to billionaires like David Ellison to decide what Americans see and hear, all while lifting scrutiny off the federal leaders who pushed it through.”

Musk, meanwhile, is spending millions on the midterms in an effort to help Republicans retain their congressional majorities. An investment in Paramount would therefore give a major GOP donor influence over another enormous piece of the American media business.

That influence would extend to CNN, making Musk a financial player in the news network. He would also gain a foothold in one of the world’s leading producers of television programs and films.

Musk has made clear that he opposes diversity in films, including the casting of Black and transgender actors. His views raise further concerns about what his influence could mean for entertainment produced under the expanded company.

Paramount’s news operation has already shifted sharply under David Ellison. CBS News has undergone a right wing transformation, with conservative activist Bari Weiss installed as editor-in-chief.

Stories critical of Republicans and the Trump administration have been suppressed, altered, or delayed at CBS News. That record has intensified fears that CNN programming could face similar political manipulation once Paramount gains control of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Trump administration has publicly admitted that it looks forward to allies such as the Ellisons controlling CNN. The prospect of Musk joining them would place yet another politically connected billionaire inside the ownership circle surrounding the network.

For critics of the transaction, the issue is larger than one investor or one newsroom. The merger would already expand the Ellisons’ ability to influence what Americans watch, hear, and read across major entertainment and news properties.

Adding Musk would consolidate right wing control over the news even further. It would unite the Ellisons’ growing media empire with a billionaire who is spending heavily to protect Republican power in Congress and whose management of X has promoted toxic content.

The result would be a merger carrying serious implications for media independence and political accountability. Mamdani’s warning captures the central concern: billionaires would gain more authority over the information Americans receive while scrutiny of supportive federal leaders could diminish.