Elon Musk faces backlash after election defeat
The gist
Elon Musk spent at least $474 million on the 2026 midterms and most of his backed Republicans lost.
Tesla and SpaceX shares fell the next morning, tying his political setback to his business empire.
How it unfolded
- Nov 3, 2026Democrats swept Texas: James Talarico beat Ken Paxton for Senate, Gina Hinojosa beat Gov. Greg Abbott, and Nathan Johnson won attorney general. Democrats also won back majorities in the federal Senate and House.
- Nov 4, 2026In premarket trading, Tesla fell more than 6% and SpaceX dropped 5.6%, below the $135 offering price of its June IPO. Trump Media & Technology Group fell 13.7%.
- Nov 4, 2026Musk posted on X: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time" and "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now." He also deleted his election-day appeal urging followers to vote Republican.