Elon Musk had infamously poured hundreds of millions of dollars into backing Republicans in the recent 2026 US midterm elections. But as voters delivered a consistent streak of defeats to the candidates he supported, the tech billionaire’s own stocks have taken the hit on Wall Street. Shares of his companies, SpaceX and Tesla, fell sharply in premarket trading today, Nov 4, after the Democrats scored major victories in a strongly conservative Texas and other states. SpaceX shares were down as much as 4.6%, while Tesla dropped 4.4% in pre-market trading. This followed Republican losses in races that mattered directly to Musk, also because his companies have made Texas a key base for their operations.
This setback was particularly noticeable in Texas, where Musk reportedly spent around $224 million (or Rs 2,119.18 crore) backing Republican candidates, according to a The New York Times report. That, includes about $158 million in September alone.
In the Texas election, Democrat candidate James Talarico defeated Republican nominee Ken Paxton in the Senate race, while Democrat Gina Hinojosa also defeated incumbent Governor Greg Abbott. Both victories were a direct hit at Musk’s efforts to keep Republican leadership in a state central to his business interests.
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Musk had also used his social media platform X to campaign against Talarico’s leadership, directly warning voters about the Democrat’s positions. Talarico, in his victory speech today, directly called Musk out, saying the election result showed that money could not outweigh the will of voters.
Beyond politics
This extends beyond political affiliations, as Tesla operates its Austin Gigafactory and has also been expanding its robotaxi services in Texas. Additionally, SpaceX launches its Starship rocket from Starbase, near Boca Chica. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who is bullish on Tesla and SpaceX, told Business Insider that Musk now needed to find a way forward with a blue Texas. Business Insider also reported that if the premarket declines held, the two companies could lose more than $140 billion in combined market value.
Now, Musk’s political spending was not limited to Texas; He spent more than $400 million backing Republican candidates and groups nationally, according to an estimate by The Washington Post. His spending made him one of the, if not the, biggest political donors in US history, but now Republican defeats in several races have raised questions about how much can money really buy?
Musk, later, responded to the poll results on X with a pointed remark: “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.” He also joked that his “election-interfering space lasers” had not worked.
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