American billionaire Elon Musk directed about $474 million to political campaigns in the 2025−2026 election cycle, primarily in support of Republicans. Despite this, the Republican Party suffered defeats in the midterm elections on 3 November.
Results in Texas and defeats of candidates backed by Musk
Voting results in Texas, home to key Tesla and SpaceX facilities, proved indicative: despite significant funding, Democrats won the governorship and the Senate seat. Previously Musk had spent hundreds of millions supporting Republicans in 2024, and in 2025 the candidate he backed in Wisconsin for the state Supreme Court was defeated.
The billionaire’s reaction was influenced by a personal post on the social network X: he joked that his ‘space lasers for interfering in elections’ didn’t work this time, a quote attributed to Elon Musk.
Drop in Tesla and SpaceX shares after the elections
Early midterm results point to a victory for the Democratic Party and forecasts about control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Against this backdrop, shares of Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. fell by approximately 1,8% in after-hours trading.
Investors reacted to the expected political shift, which was reflected in the quotations of companies associated with Musk.
Investors fear stricter regulation and slower mergers
Investors fear that Democratic control of Congress could lead to tougher regulation of artificial intelligence and complicate plans for corporate mergers. A Democrat-controlled Congress can slow down company consolidation procedures.
Ahead of the elections, Musk directed more than $445 million to political committees that support Republicans. The political activity is connected to the future of his technology empire, which includes SpaceX, Tesla, Boring Company and Neuralink; the operations of these enterprises are overseen by federal agencies, and planned corporate mergers will be subject to mandatory regulatory review.
