By Emameh Gabriel
Elon Musk poured nearly $450 million into the US midterm elections, more than any individual donor in a single cycle, to back Republican candidates. It was not enough. Democrats won resoundingly, taking control of Congress and delivering a stinging rebuke to both Donald Trump and the billionaire’s political machine.
Nowhere was Musk’s defeat more personal than in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton for a US Senate seat. Musk had spent at least $45 million supporting Paxton, according to a BBC analysis of campaign finance data. He also bankrolled races in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, with spending continuing into the eve of the vote.
By Tuesday night, Musk appeared to concede, joking on X that his “election interfering space lasers didn’t work.”
The Republican losses could carry serious consequences for Musk’s companies. SpaceX has gained an estimated $10 billion in new government contracts since Trump’s return to power, and Democratic lawmakers are now calling for scrutiny of the company’s expanding role in government and national security.
SpaceX’s push into massive data centres also faces headwinds. In Georgia, where the company has operations, the newly elected Democratic governor campaigned partly on limiting the rapid rise of these buildings and the hefty tax breaks tech firms receive to build them. Dozens of state measures to curb data centre development passed on Tuesday.
Musk posted on X that his previously floated idea to build data centres in space was “looking pretty appealing right now.”
Tech stocks were broadly up on Wednesday, but Tesla and SpaceX fell 4.9% and 3.4% respectively. James Flintoft, head of investment solutions at AJ Bell, said the scale of the Democratic wins ushers in “a period of uncertainty for investors as they assess whether tech companies are set to face greater regulation.”
Senator Ed Markey warned on X that major tech executives should prepare for investigations: “They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing.”
By Wednesday, Musk had stopped posting about politics, instead praising GrokBot, his xAI chatbot. He unpinned a post explaining his “concern” about Democratic victories and appeared to have deleted a message urging his 241 million followers to “Vote red today!”
During the campaign, Musk had posted about politics sometimes hundreds of times a day.
Not all tech billionaires backed Musk’s cause. Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn founder and major Democratic donor, hailed Tuesday’s results as an event that “blew the doors off our expectations.”
“These elections were an overwhelming wave against Trump and his cronies,” Hoffman wrote. “While people like Elon are spending outrageous amounts to keep authoritarian clowns in power, those of us who believe in the ideals of America cannot yield.” Midterms: How Musk’s $450m Failed to Stop the Blue Wave
By Emameh Gabriel
Elon Musk poured nearly $450 million into the US midterm elections, more than any individual donor in a single cycle, to back Republican candidates. It was not enough. Democrats won resoundingly, taking control of Congress and delivering a stinging rebuke to both Donald Trump and the billionaire’s political machine.
Nowhere was Musk’s defeat more personal than in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton for a US Senate seat. Musk had spent at least $45 million supporting Paxton, according to a BBC analysis of campaign finance data. He also bankrolled races in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, with spending continuing into the eve of the vote.
By Tuesday night, Musk appeared to concede, joking on X that his “election interfering space lasers didn’t work.”
The Republican losses could carry serious consequences for Musk’s companies. SpaceX has gained an estimated $10 billion in new government contracts since Trump’s return to power, and Democratic lawmakers are now calling for scrutiny of the company’s expanding role in government and national security.
SpaceX’s push into massive data centres also faces headwinds. In Georgia, where the company has operations, the newly elected Democratic governor campaigned partly on limiting the rapid rise of these buildings and the hefty tax breaks tech firms receive to build them. Dozens of state measures to curb data centre development passed on Tuesday.
Musk posted on X that his previously floated idea to build data centres in space was “looking pretty appealing right now.”
Tech stocks were broadly up on Wednesday, but Tesla and SpaceX fell 4.9% and 3.4% respectively. James Flintoft, head of investment solutions at AJ Bell, said the scale of the Democratic wins ushers in “a period of uncertainty for investors as they assess whether tech companies are set to face greater regulation.”
Senator Ed Markey warned on X that major tech executives should prepare for investigations: “They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing.”
By Wednesday, Musk had stopped posting about politics, instead praising GrokBot, his xAI chatbot. He unpinned a post explaining his “concern” about Democratic victories and appeared to have deleted a message urging his 241 million followers to “Vote red today!”
During the campaign, Musk had posted about politics sometimes hundreds of times a day.
Not all tech billionaires backed Musk’s cause. Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn founder and major Democratic donor, hailed Tuesday’s results as an event that “blew the doors off our expectations.”
“These elections were an overwhelming wave against Trump and his cronies,” Hoffman wrote. “While people like Elon are spending outrageous amounts to keep authoritarian clowns in power, those of us who believe in the ideals of America cannot yield.”
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