Billionaire Elon Musk’s nearly $450 million spending to support Republican candidates in the 2026 United States midterm elections failed to prevent a sweeping victory by Democrats.
Musk reportedly spent more than any other individual in an election cycle, backing Republican candidates in several states, including Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
One of the most notable defeats came in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the race for a US Senate seat.
According to a BBC analysis of campaign finance records, Musk spent at least $45 million supporting Paxton’s campaign.
Despite the substantial financial backing, Democrats secured major victories across the country, prompting Musk to acknowledge the outcome with a sarcastic post on X, saying his “election-interfering space lasers didn’t work.”
The Republican losses could also have implications for Musk’s business interests, particularly his companies SpaceX, Tesla and xAI, which have significant commercial and government interests.
SpaceX has secured an estimated $10 billion in new government contracts since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to the report.
However, several Democratic lawmakers have called for scrutiny of the company’s expanding role in government and national security.
Musk’s plans to expand data centre operations could also face additional challenges following the election.
In Georgia, the newly elected Democratic governor campaigned partly on limiting the rapid expansion of large data centres and the tax incentives offered to technology companies establishing such facilities.
Other candidates also campaigned on restricting data centre development, while dozens of state measures aimed at limiting their expansion passed on election day.
Data centres house the computing infrastructure used by technology companies to operate online platforms and artificial intelligence services, including ChatGPT, Claude and Musk’s X and xAI.
Responding to the changing political environment, Musk suggested on X that his previously proposed idea of building data centres in space was becoming more appealing.
The Democratic victory could also bring increased scrutiny and potential regulation of major technology companies, particularly those involved in artificial intelligence.
James Flintoft, head of investment solutions at AJ Bell, said Musk’s unsuccessful political spending and the scale of the Democratic victory had created uncertainty for investors as they assessed the possibility of tighter regulation of technology companies.
Democratic Senator Ed Markey also suggested that major technology executives could face investigations, responding to a question on X by saying that lawmakers would need to print numerous subpoenas.
Despite the election outcome, technology stocks broadly rose on Wednesday morning. However, Tesla shares fell by 4.9 per cent, while SpaceX was down by 3.4 per cent, according to the report.
Musk also appeared to shift his attention away from political commentary, posting instead about Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by his company xAI.
The billionaire had previously used his X platform, which has approximately 241 million followers, to encourage support for Republican candidates and criticise Democratic politicians.
In Texas, Musk had openly criticised Talarico, prompting the Democrat to argue that the political system should not allow a billionaire to effectively buy influence over a Senate seat.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman welcomed the election results, describing them as an overwhelming wave against Trump and his political allies.
The BBC reported that it had contacted SpaceX for comment on Musk’s political spending and posts.
