Elon Musk spent at least $474 million supporting Republican candidates in the midterm elections, making him the largest individual donor in a U.S. election cycle, according to the report. Several high-profile candidates he backed lost as Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress and won major races in Texas.
Musk had focused particular attention on Texas, where he moved in 2020 and relocated the headquarters of Tesla, SpaceX and X. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in the Senate race, becoming the first Texas senator elected in 36 years, while Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Greg Abbott in the governor’s race.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Tesla and SpaceX shares were both down about 6% in premarket trading. Musk responded on X with a joke about “election-interfering space lasers,” followed by a shrug emoji. He also wrote that “data centers in space” looked appealing. The report says he later deleted a post urging followers to vote Republican.
Musk’s laser remark referenced a debunked conspiracy theory alleging that his Starlink satellite network had been used to manipulate vote totals in Donald Trump’s favor in 2024. The data-center comment referred to SpaceX’s plan to put AI computer centers in orbit. The report also notes that 18 Musk-backed candidates in lower-profile races won their seats.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter.